When Evil Fights Back
by Golden Immortality
Summary: Set after Awakened. The time has come. Neferet is striking out, gaining more power on her side. With a power this dangerous, Zoey can't defeat her alone. She may just have to rely on someone new to help her out.
1. Vision

**A/N: **This story is a collaboration with **The Equestrian Writer**. I'm writing the House of Night part, and she's writing the Sweep part. It is our first time writing together. Some of you are probably thinking that this should be in the crossover section, but this one is the house of night version and **The Equestrian Writer **is doing the Sweep version. They are two stories w/ the same title. Mine is HoN with the Sweep characters coming in later. Whether you're a fan of the HoN series or the Sweep series, please tell us what you think.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the House of Night series. That right belongs to P.C. and Kristin Cast, the fabulous authors of this amazing series. Sadly, that also means Stark…..*whimpers*.

**Summary: **Set after Awakened. The gang has escaped the House of Night, again, to the refuge of the tunnels underneath the Tulsa depot. Neferet has allied herself with another powerful evil so that she can finally bring Zoey down. When Zoey's circle of friends are held hostage, she must rely on new friends to help her through this dangerous situation.

Okay, I'm done rambling. On with the story…. :D enjoy

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><p><strong>Chapter One<strong>

**Zoey**

"You're tickling me."

I squirmed underneath Stark as he left trails of kisses along my neck, his breath tickling me. I didn't put up a big fight, though. I liked what he was doing and didn't want him to stop. Placing my hands on either side of his handsome face, I pulled it up and met his lips with my own. We kissed passionately and hungrily. My hands slipped around his neck, pulling him closer to me. He slid his hand seductively down my body and gripped the bottom of my t-shirt, pulling it up and off.

My hands roamed over his bare chest and around to his back. Stark moved his lips from mine, dropping kisses along my cheek and down to my neck. His tongue flitted out, touching my skin. I moaned in response. "You taste so good," Stark murmured against my skin.

"Do it," I encouraged him.

Stark pulled back to look at me, checking my expression. "You sure?" he asked, searching my eyes for any signs that I was lying.

I nodded, wanting the feel of his bite. I stretched my neck, allowing him easier access. He kissed my lips one more time, then moved to my neck. As his teeth sunk in, the initial pain hit hard but was soon replaced by a wave of pleasure. I clung to him, raking my fingernails down his back as he continued to take blood from me.

"Zoey….," Stark whispered the invitation. I didn't need any other encouragement. Kissing his shoulder and neck first, I opened my mouth and began to drink from him.

A few minutes later, we lay together; arms and legs intertwined. I had my head on his shoulder and my arms wrapped around him, keeping him close to me. Stark's hand caressed my shoulder softly as he traced the filigree tattoo that was there. I sighed contentedly.

"What are you thinking about right now?" Stark asked.

I smiled, "I'm thinking of how I want to stay right here, but I know that we have to get up soon."

"I say we just forget everything else and just stay here," Stark suggested, his cocky grin out in full view. He leaned down and gave me a lingering kiss.

Against his lips, I said, "I'd have to agree with you if I didn't think that Aphrodite would come in here and drag us out." I laughed, and then kissed him.

"I'd kick her ass before she could do anything," Stark joked, breaking the kiss. We lay there together, laughing. I could almost convince myself that everything wasn't imploding all around us. I held onto him as my laughter dried up, never wanting to let him go.

Suddenly, a horrible sound came from out in the hallway. Stark and I both jerked upright, startled. Stark reached for his bow and arrows, but I held my hand up to stop him, sure that it couldn't be that dangerous. Pulling my t-shirt back on, I realized what the sound was. Two cats fighting.

A small laugh came out with my relief that it wasn't Neferet as I walked out into the tunnel. It really was quite the sight. My little orange cat, Nala, was snarling and clawing at a certain white Persian, Maleficent. Some of the fledglings were starting to come out to investigate the noise. I caught a glimpse of the twins and Kramisha down a little ways bust out laughing. It was a little funny if you thought about it.

"We have to separate them before one of them gets hurt," Stark said, materializing by my side. He had an arrow in his hand. Stark inched forward with the arrow out to try to put between the two cats. Before the arrow reached them, however, the cats separated and Maleficent took off sprinting down the tunnel, alarmed.

"That was weird," I said, staring after Aphrodite's hateful Persian as Nala began winding around my legs, her fur tickling my bare legs. She complained at me, so I picked her up and she began purring into my neck.

"What's weird about it?" Stark replied back, "That thing is Aphrodite's; I expect it to be weird." He came over and slid his arms around my waist.

Nala sneezed at him, and jumped down from my arms, she apparently didn't like being a third wheel. "How about we go back in and pick up where we left off," Stark whispered in my ear. I smiled and turned to follow him back into the room. I stopped when I saw someone coming down the tunnel.

Rephaim.

I've gotten somewhat used to him as a human guy in the few days since his change. It's still a little unsettling to know that he used to be a raven mocker. His appearance right now was a little disheveled looking, so I knew he had just come from scouting the outside world during the day. Rephaim had volunteered at the beginning to scout aboveground every so often at daytime when no one would recognize him as a bird for any signs of danger.

"Anything we need to be aware of?" I asked him.

"Nothing out of the ordinary," Rephaim explained, shaking his head, "Most of the residents has gone back to their day-to-day routines. There is no sign of Neferet or my father."

"That's what I'm afraid of," I admitted, with a sigh.

Rephaim looked at me curiously. "What are you thinking?" he asked.

"Just that if there hasn't been any sign of either of them since we've been here, then they're up to something either together or separately," I told him.

There was nothing else to say, so we went our separate ways. I was about to walk into the room when someone called to me.

"Zoey!"

I turned to see my friends, Damien and Jack, running towards me. I instantly got a feeling that something was wrong. "What?" I questioned them, "What is it?"

"You have to come quick. Aphrodite's having a vision."

**Stevie Rae**

"There you are," Stevie Rae replied, getting up from where she was sitting on the bed. "I was about to go looking for you." She slipped her arms around his waist, pulling him to her in an embrace. She relaxed into him as his arms wrapped around her comfortingly.

"I was out scouting," Rephaim told her, then he gave her a smile, "You should know that I would never leave you."

Stevie Rae smiled back at him, and their lips met in a kiss. The kiss was long and passionate, and the rest of the world fell away as she became consumed by him. They haven't gone any farther than just kissing, but it was times like these that her need and desire of him could overrule all coherent thought.

Rephaim's hands slipped underneath her shirt, but they didn't go any further. He kept his hands on her waist, stroking her soft, smooth skin. Tingles spread throughout her body as her fingers tangled themselves in his long, black, raven-soft hair. Stevie Rae was vaguely aware of the thrum that was his heartbeat and the pounding of his blood. The lure of his blood grew stronger with every sensual kiss.

Rephaim pulled back slightly, resting his forehead against hers. "When was the last time you had any blood?" he whispered, trying to see if she showed any signs of weakness.

"I'm fine," Stevie Rae assured him, though a little unconvincingly.

"You need some then," Rephaim replied. He pulled her over to the bed and they sat down on it. "Take as much as you need."

"I don't want to-" Her protests were cut off when he put his finger to her lips.

"I'd do anything that would help you," Rephaim stated. He guided her head to his neck for her to drink from him. The lure of his blood was intoxicating, and she couldn't fight against it. She opened her mouth to bite down, when suddenly-

"Stevie Rae, you need to-whoa, hey!" Kramisha said, from the doorway.

They were both startled, but Rephaim had his arm around Stevie Rae to keep her from moving too far away. "What is it?" she asked, a little flustered.

"I just wrote this poem and it creepy as hell," Kramisha stated, holding a piece of purple paper out.

**Zoey**

Stark and I ran to Aphrodite's room, with Jack, Damien, and Duchess right behind us. This is it. This is what we've been waiting for. All sorts of scenarios involving Neferet and/or Kalona spun around in my head, each one much worst than the one before it. We reached Aphrodite's room and we didn't hesitate in pushing through the curtain that hung in the doorway and into the room. All of us stopped as we took in the scene.

Aphrodite was on the bed, leaning against a few pillows. Her blood-red eyes were focused across the room, but I knew she wasn't seeing the dirt wall that was there. I should have known something was happening when Maleficent took off, because the Persian was sitting on Aphrodite's lap, staring up at her worriedly. Darius sat next to her, his arm around her and trying to comfort her. She was also violently shaking.

I walked over the bed, sat down, and took her hand in mine. "Aphrodite?" I began, trying to be as gentle as I could. It was a little hard, because I was scared that what Aphrodite was seeing was something really terrible. "Aphrodite, can you hear me? Can you tell me what you see?"

Silence.

Then, suddenly, Aphrodite gasped a big, lungful of air, a panicked expression her face. "Aphrodite, what it is?" I urged her, still gentle but with a little more urgency.

She didn't say anything again, and, this time, her oath-bound warrior spoke up for the first time since we'd come into the room. "She's experiencing something terrible," Darius pulled her closer to him as if he could shield her from the vision, "She needs to-"

"There's a town…..never seen it before….." Aphrodite finally gasped out, "Then,….O Goddess!….."

"Please tell us what you see," I told her, a little bit of a pleading note in my voice. I saw that she was starting to come out of the vision. I turned to Damien and Jack, who were still standing in the doorway. "Go get her a cold washcloth for her eyes." They both nodded and were gone.

"She needs to rest," Darius tried again.

"No," This was Aphrodite. She found Darius' arm with her hand and rubbed it reassuringly. "There was a room…filled with those other nasty red fledglings and Kalona and….a woman I didn't recognize," Aphrodite explained, still quite terrified, "It was filled with smoke and fire, and blood….so much blood." She shivered, and curled into Darius' embrace.

"Was there anybody else there?" I asked. I felt Stark move closer to me, placing a hand on my shoulder. I took comfort in his presence.

Aphrodite nodded, "A bunch of random people, and all of us….." She looked at me, and there was something in the way she looked at me through red eyes that sent a chill down my spine. "Except you and Stark."

My heart nearly stopped beating. My friends and a bunch of innocent people were going to possibly be dying and I wasn't there. "Could you see any indication of where this is going to happen?" I managed to sputter out. I gripped Stark's hand, and he squeezed it back, reassuringly.

"I saw a sign," Aphrodite affirmed, "It read: Widow's Vale, New York."

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><p><strong>AN:** If this has intrigued you, please review and we'll post the next chapter.


	2. A Poetic Warning

**A/N: **Thank you to everybody who reviewed! I really appreciate it.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the House of Night series. That right belongs to P.C. and Kristin Cast, the fabulous authors of this amazing series. Sadly, that also means Stark and Rephaim…..*whimpers*.

:D enjoy

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><p><strong>Chapter Two<strong>

**Neferet**

The night sky was a beauty to behold. It stretched on into infinity, holding its' own secrets and the secrets of the world. The sky has been the one unchangeable thing in the world; watching as everything around it changed and it remained the same. Neferet looked out on it from the window in her hotel suite. Soon, she will rule as vampyre queen under these stars and command all who are below her. The darkness that has become almost like her second shadow swirled around her ankles. It swelled from all the payment she'd given it for the favors it granted her in the last few days.

Neferet felt the man enter the room before she heard him. She smiled to herself. He had returned to her, knowing what she could do to him had he failed. He's here, which means he is a worthy ally. The man stepped a few more paces into the room, and stopped.

"My queen," he said, in his Scottish accent, "Everything is in place."

"Excellent," Neferet hissed, her smile turning feral. She turned around slowly to face the man. He was extremely handsome, her eyes flicking up and down his body. He had short, cropped dark hair and the same hazel eyes as his lovely daughter. "You have done well," she stopped, with barely an inch between them. She rested her hand on his chest, her delicate fingers stroking his chest and popping a few of the buttons on his shirt.

"On our word, Kalona and Selene will do their part, and the girls will be ours," Ciaran replied, his hands sliding seductively down her body. Neferet pressed herself up against him, her red lips nipping at his ear.

"Are sure you can do this, my love?" Neferet whispered in his ear. "The witch is your daughter. I can't have you letting me down when all of this starts. You know what happens when I get upset." Her long fingernails bit into his chest, and the delicious aroma of his blood filled the air and her lungs.

Ciaran felt the darkness climb up around Neferet's legs as he held her. The darkness barely touched him, but the coldness was enough to seep through his clothes and burn his skin. "You have nothing to fear, my queen," he assured her, "I will do what I have to."

Neferet's smile was wicked. "Good," she purred, "Now take me to bed." She kissed his lips fiercely, with a cold passion. They fell onto the bed, and Neferet ripped his shirt the rest of the way open, finding the spot on his chest where her fingernails had scratched him. She licked up the blood, the taste exploding in her mouth and filling her with desire. Their clothes came off and they sank deeper in their pleasure.

It was the calm before the storm, and, my, it was going to be one hell of a storm.

**Stevie Rae**

Stevie Rae stared at the paper in Kramisha's outstretched hand. She didn't want to look at it. She had a bad feeling down deep in the pit of her stomach. But she knew she had to cowboy up and be the red vampyre High Priestess she was. Stevie Rae took the paper from her friend, and, with a deep breath, looked down and read it. She read through it once, silently, then she read it aloud.

_Darkness has a new ally_

_Ones with powers_

_will be weakened_

_Blood will be spilled_

_On the eve of Blood Moon,_

_the night of sacrificial power_

_The ultimate sacrifice must be made_

Her heart was pounding when she finished. Tucking a blond curl behind her ear, she looked up at Kramisha and Rephaim. "I really don't like the sound of this," Stevie Rae admitted. She felt Rephaim put his arm around her and rub her shoulder comfortingly. "I'm afraid it might be talking about Z and Neferet."

"Yeah, that sacrifice part does not sound good," Kramisha added.

"I think we need to show this to Zoey and the others," Stevie Rae said. "It seems a little easy to figure out, especially the first part. The second part is harder, though."

"I'll come with you," Rephaim spoke up, for the first time.

"No." Stevie Rae replied. She gave him an apologetic smile. "Can you gather up the red fledglings and tell them what's going on? They don't need to know the specifics, but I want them to be prepared for anything. Kramisha, you come with me to find Zoey."

Rephaim nodded, gave her a kiss on the cheek, and left through the blanket door.

"Girl, you know you actually sounded like a High Priestess," Kramisha commented, bumping Stevie Rae's shoulder with hers.

"Thanks," Stevie Rae grinned, self-consciously, despite the situation. They made their way out of the room and were heading down the tunnel when they were nearly run over by Stark.

"Whoa, boy, watch where you going," Kramisha scolded him, mock-dusting herself off.

"Sorry, but I'm glad I ran into you two," Stark explained. "We're meeting up in the basement; Aphrodite had a vision. Zoey wants to talk to everybody."

"That's good, 'cause we have something we need to show Z," Stevie Rae said. The three of them hurriedly turned down the tunnel leading up to the basement.

**Zoey**

I waited until all of my friends had arrived up in the basement area. Damien and Jack were there, sitting next to each other, on a few overturned crates. They were talking quietly they were the only ones, besides Stark, who knew that Aphrodite had a vision. The twins, Erin and Shaunee, had come in a little bit after that. I had told Aphrodite to stay and rest, but she insisted on coming with me, refusing to be left out. Darius had wanted to her to rest as well, though he didn't argue with her and had stayed close to her. Stevie Rae, Kramisha, and Stark arrived last. I grew a little more apprehensive when I saw my BFF holding a sheet of purple paper. I automatically knew it was one of Kramisha's prophetic poems.

"Okay, everyone's here," I began, "I'm sure some of you have probably wondered if something has happened or not. Well, Aphrodite had a vision, and I think that requires our immediate attention." I knew I had everybody's attention now. My friends' faces were a mix of shock, curiousness, and a little fear. "It involved Kalona and another woman in a warehouse with a bunch of us and other innocent people."

"Where is this taking place?" Stevie Rae asked. She had a look of concern on her face, and she was the only one standing, besides Stark who had come to stand next to me.

"Um, Widow's Vale, New York," I answered.

"It's kind of weird, 'cause at the same time Aphrodite had the vision, Kramisha wrote this," Stevie Rae said, walking up to me and handing over the purple paper. "I think I may have some of it figured out, but not all of it."

I took the paper from her and looked at it. I read it out loud so that everybody could hear it.

_Darkness has a new ally_

_Ones with powers_

_will be weakened_

_Blood will be spilled_

_On the eve of Blood Moon,_

_the night of sacrificial power_

_The ultimate sacrifice must be made_

"Sounds like some major shit is stirring," Erin commented, breaking the silence that fell after I finished reading the poem.

"That's right, twin," Shaunee agreed.

"Yeah," Stevie Rae replied, absentmindedly. "I think we know that Darkness has a new ally in Neferet and I was thinking that, Z, you're the one with the powers that will be weakened."

Stark moved closer to me. "It makes sense," I nodded, "but it's plural. So, there's someone else too." I looked at my best friend. "Maybe you, Stevie Rae. The 'blood will be spilled' part is kind of obvious."

"Is someone going to die?" Jack asked, his voice cracking on the last word. We all fell silent again. Jack glanced at Damien, who put his arm around him and squeezed reassuringly. Rephaim had come in a little bit before that, and, now, he took Stevie Rae's hand in his. Stark pulled me closer, tighter, against him, and kissed my temple. I knew he was taking this poem seriously.

"What are we going to do?" Damien asked.

"I think the only thing we can and should do," I explained. I took a deep breath, patting Stark's hand on my waist. "We need to go to Widow's Vale as soon as possible to stop whatever Neferet and Kalona are up to. I also think not all of us should go."

"If Stevie Rae goes, I go," Rephaim stated, holding on to her hand tighter. He looked down at her, then back at me with conviction.

"Okay, that's fine," I told him. "So, me and Stark, Stevie Rae, Rephaim, Erin, Shaunee, Damien. I think Aphrodite should go, and Darius, too." I counted off the people who would be going, who should be going. I looked around and made sure that was everybody.

"What about me?" Jack asked, his blue eyes watching with fear and sadness of being left behind.

"I'm sorry, but I think you should stay here," I said. Turning to Stevie Rae and Kramisha, I suggested, "Maybe everybody who is staying here should go back to the House of Night, just until we come back?"

"You're right," Stevie Rae agreed, "I don't want any of the fledglings to start coughing and dieing again." She turned to Kramisha beside her. "I'm putting you in charge in my absence. Gather them up and have them ready to leave for the House of Night."

Kramisha nodded. "Good luck, priestess," she said, as she walked to the metal ladder that led down to the tunnels. She also nodded at me on her way there.

I felt a small pressure on my arm, and, turning, I saw Jack standing before me. He looked nervous. I gave him a reassuring smile. "Is everything okay, Jack?" I asked him.

"I want to come with all of you, Zoey," he replied, pushing his hands into his pockets and looking down at his feet.

"Jack, I-" I began to say, but I didn't get very far.

"Zoey, please, I've been thinking about it," Jack interrupted, picking his head back up. "You don't really know what you're going to be looking for when you get there. Damien could bring his laptop, and I could-I dunno-maybe do some research and find where that place is. It's a new place, Z. You might need my technology skills."

I stood there, watching him. His eyes shining with hope and bravery, I almost couldn't refuse him. "I'm not going to lie, Jack," I said, "This could be dangerous."

"I know," Jack assured. He glanced behind him at Damien, and I saw his love shining all over his face like brightness of the sun. "But it's worth it."

"Okay," I announced, not only to Jack but to everyone else, too. "Everybody who is going, let's get ready." I took Stark's hand as we all moved around to get the things we need to leave. During that, I had only one thought:

_Ah, hell._

**Zoey**

About two hours later, with the help of Aphrodite's credit card and Stevie Rae's red vamp mind powers, we acquired ten tickets on the next flight to New York. We all settled into our seats for the flight. Stark sat down beside me after fitting our bags into the overhead compartment, his hand resting on my leg. We all just packed one bag, much to the twins' and Aphrodite's dismay. There's no need for us to have a ton of bags for this trip.

The Twins, Damien, and Jack were across the aisle from Stark and me. Stevie Rae and Rephaim were behind us, and Aphrodite and Darius were in front of us. I glanced out the window, resting my head on Stark's shoulder. I allowed the soft movement of the plane to lull me asleep, knowing it might be the last chance I could get for a while.

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><p>What do you all think? Please review!<p> 


	3. And so it begins

**A/N:** Thank you again to everybody who read and reviewed. I'm sorry for the long wait, but I think this chapter will be worth it. I hope everybody likes it, I know I do.

**Chapter Three**

**Zoey**

_I was in a deserted cemetery, all the way in the back past all the graves. Neferet was there facing me, and I knew that she was about to kill me. There was another girl there, standing beside me. She was about my age, with plain long brown hair and hazel eyes. She was more than ordinary, though. I could feel that she had some kind of magickal powers; strong powers._

_The girl turned to me, her mouth forming the words of a chant. I couldn't make out the words, but her power was building. Her power combined with mine, and the strength of it was infinite. Then, there was an explosion behind me and I was thrown into darkness._

"Zoey? Zoey."

I woke to the sound of Stark calling my name. Opening my eyes, I could see Stark looking at me with concern. Even though he couldn't have seen my dream, I knew he felt all the strong feelings I had. It was still a little disconcerting to know that he could do that. I straightened myself up, causing Stark to sit back against the seat.

"I'm fine," I told him, touching his arm. "It was just a weird dream, that's all."

"Are you sure? Do you want to talk about it?" Stark persisted.

I shook my head and turned toward Jack, where he was sitting on the other side of Damien, next to the door. The plane had landed about an hour and a half ago, from there we rented a van and Jack was using Damien's laptop to find a hotel for us to stay in. "Did you find anything?" I asked, to get the topic off of me and my weird dream.

"Yeah, I found a small motel in the area," Jack answered, leaning forward to look at me around Damien. "I was just giving Darius directions. You were asleep and Stark said we shouldn't wake you."

"Are we almost there?" I asked, stretching a little but not having much room to do so. This seat wasn't really designed to seat four people.

"Yes, it's not far now," Jack replied.

"Which is good, 'cause the sun will be up in about twenty minutes, maybe less," Stevie Rae spoke up, from the backseat.

I looked out the window. The sky was lighter, with the sun's rays starting to show in the sky. I looked up at Stark, touching his cheek, and glancing back at my best friend. She had her head resting on Rephaim's shoulder, and they were talking in hushed tones. Stark and Stevie Rae were both showing a few signs of fatigue from the sun. I decided then that it would be best if we went over what we were going to do now. That way, we can all sleep when we get to the motel.

"Okay, we're going to have to get started at dusk," I began, getting everybody's attention. "We need to find all the warehouses in town, check them out and see if Kalona or Neferet are holed up there."

"Zoey?" Jack said. I looked over at him. He clicked something on the computer, then looked back up. "After I found the motel, I decided to do a little research on the town. I found out that in downtown Widow's Vale, there are a bunch of warehouses on Mission Avenue."

"Good job, honey," Damien smiled, putting his arm around Jack and squeezing him. Jack smiled sheepishly, looking down at his lap.

"Yeah, good work," I agreed. "So, we have the location, and the description from Aphrodite's vision. We'll just have to find the warehouse and go from there."

"Oh, for shit's sake!" Aphrodite's exclamation cut me off, and those of us in the back looked at her. "That is _it_?"

Aphrodite was peering out the window from the front passenger seat. Looking out the window, I saw that we had arrived at the motel and Darius was pulling into the parking lot. 'The Sunshine Motel' the sign read, was a small motel, with two levels. It was painted a bright, cheery yellow and had orange doors. Across the street was a grocery store, and a mall further down the road that we had passed.

"I'll tell you something. The interior better be a hell of a lot better than this crap fest I'm looking at," Aphrodite replied. "That's got to be the ugliest color I've ever seen."

"Hey, twin, would call that puke yellow or the same color as a certain hag from hell we know?" Erin commented. I could hear the smile and laughter in her voice.

"I think they're the same color, twin," Shaunee replied. They both smirked at Aphrodite, letting a string of giggles loose.

Aphrodite glared at them. "Okay, I'm getting out of this car," she finally said. She opened the door, climbed out, and slammed the door behind her. The rest of us followed suit, getting our bags together.

"I don't care what it looks like," Stevie Rae twanged, slipping her bag onto her shoulder. We all began walking to the main office to check in. "I might fall asleep right here."

"You guys go on. I'm going to... take a walk," Rephaim said, hanging back.

We all knew what he meant. Stevie Rae looked like she was going say something in acquiesce. Then, she nodded to him and leaned up to kiss him. After they parted, she watched as he sprinted past the motel to the trees that lie behind it.

I slowed my pace, letting the others walk ahead of me until Stevie Rae caught up. "You okay?" I asked her, as I started walking again. "I know it's probably hard for you to let him go."

"Yeah, I'm okay," Stevie Rae answered. She took a deep breath. "He doesn't want me to see...you know. He wants to do it alone. As much as I would like to be with him through it, I respect what he wants."

I nodded in understanding, and put my arm around her as we caught up to the others. We managed to get two side-by-side rooms without causing too much of a commotion. For one thing, the guy at the front desk looked bored and didn't seem bothered by a group of teenagers checking into a motel. In fact, his attention was only on us when he was asking the standard questions. We got up to the second level to our rooms, and decided who was sleeping where. Boys in one room, girls in the other; it was the fastest and easiest way.

Come dusk, we will all gather in one room and prepare ourselves for what we need to do. For now, it was time for sleep. It very well might be the last time we get to sleep, for a while.

**Kalona**

The sun glinted off the trees, and onto the ground, painting it with shades of light and dark. The wind blew by, rustling the leaves and sending the fallen leaves swirling around and around before landing in a different spot. The croaking sound of ravens called out sporadically, as if the wind was disturbing them. Of course, they were more than ravens; they were nightmarish beasts. His children. It wasn't all of his children. One was gone, missing from his side. Rephaim. He had turned his back on him, and chose to walk the same path of the red vampyre high priestess. The same path he was on before he fell from the Goddess, Nyx's, side.

Kalona stopped in the center, looking up into the trees. Shadows moved on the branches; they were getting anxious. His massive black wings ruffled behind him, itching to join his children up in the sky. Kalona stretched his wings, letting them unfurl to their full length.

"My sons! Join me!" Kalona called.

A swarm of raven mockers burst from the trees and flew to the ground. They landed in a half circle around Kalona. "Nisroc." he began.

The raven mocker stepped forward. "Yesss, fattther?"

"Are you all ready for tonight?" Kalona questioned. He would be asking Rephaim these questions, had he still been here. Nisroc just grated on his nerves.

"Yesss, we all rready," Nisroc confirmed.

"Well, this is a cozy, little spot," a voice said, from behind Kalona. It was spoken with such confidence and calmness, he knew who it was. "Do you always stay in such...charming dwellings?"

The raven mockers stirred restlessly, flapping their wings. Kalona turned around to face the woman who had spoken. She was an attractive woman, with dark hair and gold-colored eyes. But, she was far from being weak or vulnerable. She was a very powerful witch.

"Ah, Selene, nice to see you again," Kalona replied, turning on the charm. "How are you doing?"

"Cut the pleasantries, Kalona," Selene said, "It's done and ready."

"It is?" Kalona repeated, an eyebrow raising. "Everything is spelled, set, and ready?"

Selene crossed her arms, and walked closer to the immortal. "Are you questioning me?" she retorted. "I don't like being questioned or doubted. Don't you forget that."

They stood just a hair's width away from each other, neither one backing down. The raven mockers grew even more restless, calling out now. "And, you, don't think you can order me around," Kalona growled, a low deep intensity in his voice. "Don't make the mistake of threatening me again."

Selene stared at him, unwavering. Then, her hand shot out and witch fire flew outward. It hit a few raven mockers, knocking them to the ground. Of all the things Kalona could have done, he laughed. Selene smirked, cracking the tension as well. The tension was still there, it was just cracked a little bit.

"Very well then," Kalona stated. He leaned against the closest tree, crossing his arms. "Where are the fledglings?"

She quirked an eyebrow, and started to walk a circle around Kalona. "Oh, do you mean those gross fledglings and their vampyre leader, who is one comment away from getting his head burned off," Selene snipped.

Kalona nodded.

"They're back at the warehouse, making a meal out of every homeless person they find," Selene explained, "The two witches were in the neighborhood, searching."

Kalona stood up straight. "Did they see you?" he asked.

"Kalona, you hurt me," Selene smiled, sweetly. "I know how to cloak myself. No one will know of my—our—presence, until the time comes."

"Excellent, let's go," Kalona grinned. He nodded to his sons. He and Selene began their walk back into town. Nisroc took off from the ground, and led his brothers into the sky.

**Stark**

"Dammit! Open up!" Stark growled in frustration. He pulled the crowbar out, then stuck it back under the hood of the car to open it. They were on their way into downtown Widow's Vale. They were only a few streets away from Mission Avenue when the car broke down. It made a sputtering sound once, and Darius just had enough time to pull over to the side of the road before it went dead.

"You're doing it too hard," Darius said. He took the crowbar from Stark. "You have to wiggle it a little bit to hit the latch."

"I know there's a button here somewhere," Damien murmured. He had found a manual in the glove compartment. The front passenger side door was opened and he was sitting on the seat, reading through the book.

"That book is not going to tell you how to open the hood," Stark told him. He stood with his hands on his hips, seeing if Darius would get it.

"It's worth a try," Damien just said.

"Oh, for shit's sake, how many guys does it take to open a hood," Aphrodite snorted, leaning against the side of the car.

"In case you haven't noticed, Darius is one of those guys," Zoey pointed out, from the driver's seat. Aphrodite narrowed her eyes at her. "Oh, I think I found it!" Zoey leaned down, pressed something, and then she was getting up out of the car. Her face fell as she saw the hood still down.

"It's okay, Z," Stark assured her, putting his arm around her shoulders. Zoey leaned forward, her hands resting on the hood. Almost immediately, her brow furrowed and she was looking at the hood in concentration. "What is it?" Stark asked her.

"I'm not sure," Zoey answered, "I feel magick...like someone used magick on the car."

"You mean, like someone used magick on the car to make it stop," Stevie Rae added, joining the others.

"Yeah, as if someone was trying to stop us from going where we're going," Zoey said, thoughtfully.

"What are you thinking?" Stark asked her.

"I'm thinking that we need to find that warehouse now," Zoey said, looking around at everybody.

"I hope you're not saying that we walk," Aphrodite sneered.

"Do you see any other way to get there?" Zoey replied, "Besides, it's not that far." She pointed down the road. "I think I see a fence. There's got to be a building behind it; so we must be close."

The sound of a car driving down the road made them all start walking. It was a black car, with tinted windows. They expected it to go past them, but it slowed down and stopped beside them. The window rolled down, revealing a man with cropped, dark hair and piercing hazel eyes. He leaned his arm on the window, his other arm resting on the steering wheel. He smiled.

"You kids alright out here?" the man asked, loud enough to be heard over the hum of the engine.

Zoey stepped forward to speak to the man. Stark put his hand on her arm, pulling her back. "Zoey, I don't like this," he whispered, "I have a bad feeling."

Zoey smiled at him reassuringly, but walked to the man, nonetheless. Stark followed next to her, extremely close and gripping his bow. Darius flanked her other side. Stark watched as Zoey spoke to the man, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious.

"We're fine," Zoey told him, "Our car just broke down. We were going-"

"Do you need a ride?" the man offered.

Stark put his hand on her arm again. Zoey put her hand on top of his. "No, it's okay," she replied, "I live down the street a little bit. It's not that far."

The man nodded. "Well, if you're all sure," he finally said, his hand rested on the gearshift. "Just be careful, this can be a very dangerous neighborhood at times."

Zoey smiled thankfully at him. "Yeah, we'll be-"

Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, another man clapped a hand over Zoey's mouth and an arm around her waist. He dragged her backward, skirting around everyone and was heading toward the car.

"No!" Stark yelled. He lunged forward to grab her, but was stopped in his tracks. He seemed to hit a magickal, invisible wall and was flung backward. Zoey was pulled into the backseat of the car, hanging limp. "No, Zoey! Dammit!"

The car made a quick u-turn, and sped away with his queen inside. Stark started to run after it, but Darius grabbed a hold of him before he got too far.

"Get the fuck off me!" Stark struggled to get loose. Darius was strong, but Stark was putting up a good fight, too. "Let go!"

"You can't go running off without a plan, especially with the way you're feeling right now," Darius reasoned.

"Would you still be standing here if it was Aphrodite who was taken right in front of you?" Stark snapped, pulling one arm free. Darius quickly grabbed him again, pinning his arms behind him.

Stevie Rae stepped in front of Stark. "Calm down," she told him, "This isn't going to help Z. Okay, if we find the warehouse, maybe there will be some clue to where-"

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Stark exasperated. "The guy drove off in the opposite direction. The longer we stand here, the farther away she's getting!"

"I know, but you need to calm down," Stevie Rae said, "This isn't helping."

Stark broke away from Darius, and back away from everybody. "You know what, screw you all," he exclaimed, "I got her out of the Otherworld. I don't need any of your help saving her this time."

Making sure his quiver of arrows were strapped securely across his back and gripped his bow, Stark ran off down the road where the car had went.

**Stevie Rae**

"It's about damn time," Aphrodite complained, "Bumpkin, if my shoes are ruined, you owe me big time."

Stevie Rae ignored her. The neighborhood was old and dilapidated, with rows and rows of apartment buildings on either side of the street. Further down, there were warehouses. "Okay, it's not that far now," Stevie Rae said.

There were a few groans of protest, but they all started walking again anyway. As they grew near, Stevie Rae realized there were more warehouses than they counted on. Some were in better condition than others; some were condemned, while others just had boarded up windows. Still, a lot were in working condition.

Stevie Rae stifled a groan of frustration. Rephaim place his hand on her shoulder in reassurance, know how she was feeling. She turned toward the others, Aphrodite in particular. "Does any of them look familiar?" she questioned, getting right to the point.

"Oh, so that's it?" Aphrodite replied, "That's your big plan? Just go on a guess and go from there?"

"It won't be a guess," Stevie Rae argued, "You're the one who had the vision, you should be able to pick it out."

Aphrodite huffed and crossed her arms, but she looked out at the warehouses. She concentrated on each one, before she moved on to the next one.

_Crooaaak._

Everybody stopped, and looked around. It didn't seem to come from any specific place. It was silent now, like there was never even a creepy sound.

Aphrodite suddenly pointed. "There. I think it might be that one," she explained, "It looks vaguely familiar."

"Are you sure?" Stevie Rae asked, turning to see the building Aphrodite had pointed out.

"Um, guys, who are they?...over there?" Jack spoke up. He was looking at something across the street.

Everyone turned to where Jack was looking. Across the street, two people were standing by a car. A boy and a girl, both blonde, the guy had on a brown leather jacket and the girl had a black one. They both looked to be about nineteen, and they were staring at them.

"What does it matter?" Aphrodite dismissed, with a wave of her hand. "The blonde twins are probably jealous of seeing someone as fabulous as me. Oh, great, now they're coming over here."

Sure enough, the guy was crossing the street toward them, with the girl following quickly behind him.

"Be nice," Stevie Rae whispered to Aphrodite. She turned to face the newcomers.

"Wait a minute," Aphrodite murmured, "They were in my vision...in the warehouse...with the rest of us."

Stevie Rae turned back, once more, to the blonde duo, holding onto Rephaim's hand. She stepped forward as guy reached them. Up close, his hair was more white blond, he had green eyes, and he was a lot taller than he looked far away.

"I'm Hunter Niall," the boy introduced himself, holding out his hand. He nodded to the girl next to him. "And this is my cousin, Sky Eventide."

Stevie Rae shook his hand. "I'm Stevie Rae Johnson," she greeted. She motioned to the others gathered around her. "These are my friends. Rephaim, Darius, Aphrodite, Damien, Jack, Erin, and Shaunee."

"Pleased to meet you," Hunter replied. "It's awfully late for a bunch of teenagers to be out, especially in this part of town."

"I could say the same thing about you two," Stevie Rae said back. "It's a little hard to explain, but something is telling me you will understand."

"Point taken. Okay, first things first, you are..." Hunter began.

"Well, those of us with crescent moon outline are fledgling vampyre," Stevie Rae explained, "Only Darius and I are vampyres with the complete mark."

"Oh, so you're..." Hunter started to say, but he was interrupted by a terrible croaking sound. They looked around, but there was no sign of anything moving in the darkness or under the street light.

"There's that hawk again," Sky replied. She turned to her cousin. "Do you think it might be hurt?"

"That's not a hawk," Rephaim stated.

"Okay, anyway, if you guys are vampyres, that means you feed on humans," Hunter gestured toward Rephaim and Aphrodite. "Are these two you next meal?"

"Ew, hell now will I be a human blood bag," Aphrodite sneered, looking pointedly at Stevie Rae. Then, muttering under her breath, "I can't say the same thing about him."

"Okay, we're not completely dependent on blood," Stevie Rae explained, "Some of us crave it a little more than others, but that's it."

"So what are you guys doing in this part of town?" Hunter asked, "It's not exactly the scenic route."

Stevie Rae took a deep breath and centered herself. _Earth, help me know this is the right decision_. The element swirled around her in waves of freshly cut grass and the scent of new flowers. She trusted in her element; it never led her wrong. "Well, Aphrodite," she motioned to the other girl, "She had a vision about a bunch of hostages in one of these warehouses. Actually, we were the hostages, you two included."

Hunter gaped at her; she clearly caught him off guard. "We saw the same vision," he said.

"Well, shit," Aphrodite muttered.

"How is that possible?" Stevie Rae questioned, trying to mask her shock.

"We scryed using my scrying stone; us and two other blood witches," Hunter stopped when a red BMW sped down the street and stopped by the curb three feet away them.

"So, they're witches," Stevie Rae whispered, low so only their group could hear.

"Great, all we need is a werewolf to join us," Aphrodite mumbled.

Stevie Rae rolled her eyes and turned back to see Hunter approach the car, Sky joining him. A young woman, about seventeen, got out of the drivers' side. She was tall, and had minky dark hair that fell in perfectly tousled waves to the bottom of her neck. Then, the passenger-side door opened, and a guy about the same age with dark hair, climbed out. Stevie Rae could just make out out two young girls in the backseat.

A low whistle came from the back of the group. Stevie Rae knew it was the twins. "Twin, check him out," Erin grinned, "He is sooo fine!"

"Mm-hmm," Shaunee agreed. They launched into a round of flirtatious comments, and waves and hair flips.

Stevie Rae tuned them out, turning back to Hunter and Sky. She just managed to hear the girl tell Hunter that someone named Morgan is missing. She saw Hunter go completely white. They all looked very concerned. What if this Morgan was a witch, too? Suddenly, something dawned on Stevie Rae. Zoey was taken, and now this girl. It can't be a coincidence.

Stevie Rae walked up to Hunter, Sky, and the two newcomers. She could feel Rephaim following her, protecting her. Hearing the raven mockers' call was putting him on edge. "Excuse me," she replied, "Did I hear you say that someone was kidnapped?"

"We don't know that for sure," Hunter told her.

"Well, our friend was kidnapped, and it seems awfully suspicious that another girl was kidnapped too," Stevie Rae said.

"Look," but that was all Hunter had time to say before a scream came from inside the car and something crashed through the windshield. There was an explosion of glass, everybody shielded themselves and others from getting glass impaled in their skin. One of girls left in the car,-dark hair, olive skin, dark eyes-was able to get out before the raven mocker crashed. The other girl wasn't so lucky.

The raven mocker stood up on to the hood of the car, completely unharmed. He stretched out his wings and let out a low croaking sound, sending the tall girl-who was helping the other girl out of the car-back to the rest of the group.

"Nisroc?..." Rephaim started to say, taking a step forward. Stevie Rae put her hand on his arm, stopping him. He gently took her hand off his arm and squeezed it. He turned back to his brother. "Nisroc, what are you doing here? Where is father?"

"What is he doing? Is he one of them?" Hunter asked her.

"It's a long story, for which we don't have time for right now," Stevie Rae explained, "Let's just say he was, but not anymore."

"Maybe you can tell us next time when we're not facing imminent death," Hunter told her, his hand striking out and blue witch fire shot from his fingertips.

Nisroc barely spared Hunter a glance. He swiped his wing through the air, dodging the witch fire with one swat. Then, he tucked his wings back in, tilted his head up to the sky, and cawed another loud croaking sound.

Rephaim knew automatically what was going to happen. He grew a little frantic, rushing toward his brother again. "Nisroc, no! What are you doing?" He exclaimed, "You don't have to do this! There's another way; you don't have to live this way!"

"Guys, I think we should go now," Jack spoke up. He sounded scared, and when Stevie Rae turned around, she found out why.

Stevie Rae's mouth slowly fell open at the sight before her. There was a swarm of raven mockers flying down toward them.

"Yeah, I second that," Sky agreed, from where she stood next to Hunter.

Suddenly, Nisroc jumped off the car and lunged toward everybody. Everyone began running, except Rephaim. Stevie Rae pulled on his arm, trying to get him to come with her. He wasn't moving. She looked around worriedly, but all of her friends were already running. Though, there was still one person standing there. Hunter.

"What are you doing?" Stevie Rae asked him.

"They're not going to go away on their own," Hunter said, and turned back to the raven mockers, whispering something.

"You can't fight them; they'll kill you!" Stevie Rae warned him. Her voice was rising, and taking on an authoritative tone. She sounded like a high priestess. "Both of you, let's go!"

Hunter looked from Stevie Rae to the raven mockers. Rephaim stood very still, looking at Nisroc. There was one more loud croaking sound from Nisroc, and Hunter finally spoke. "Alright, let's go," Hunter relented. Rephaim nodded as well. With Hunter leading, the three of them ran in the direction the others had went.

They caught up to the others about a half a block away, looking tired and confused. Sky pushed her way through the group toward Hunter. "This isn't just some random chasing," she panted, "They're herding us somewhere."

"We have to keep moving," Hunter replied, "Maybe if we split up in small groups, we'll confuse them."

"So that we don't have to watch them kill us altogether, yeah good plan," Aphrodite sneered.

"You have a better one?" Hunter shot at her.

One of the raven mockers suddenly flew down toward them, getting a little too close to one of the younger girls-the one with brown hair and brown eyes-, causing her to scream, sent them running again.

"We can't keep running like this," Stevie Rae pointed out. "We need to take cover."

Almost immediately after she said that a warehouse rose up ahead of them. There was something foreboding about it, but Stevie Rae was right. They couldn't keep running forever, they needed shelter.

Hunter was the first one to the door. He pulled on the door, revealing that the door wasn't locked, but it only opened halfway before it stuck. "Everybody, hurry up! Get inside!" he called to the group. After everyone made it inside, he started to close the door but it wouldn't budge. The flapping of wings sounded like thunder as Darius darted forward to help Hunter close the door. Together, they battle with the door until it shut with an audible thud, leaving them in complete darkness.

"Now what do we do?" Jack asked. His hand must have brushed against the fourteen year old girl, because she yelped a little in surprise.

Laughter floated toward us from somewhere in the warehouse and there was a faint rustle of wings. Then came the soft thud of boot heels on concrete, coming toward them.

"Who would have thought it was going to be this easy."


	4. Villains Revealed

**Author's Note:** I just want to thank everybody for reading and reviewing the last chapter. I'm sorry for the long wait. I hope I still have readers out there and I'm really trying to not have these long waits between chapters. Anyway, please enjoy :)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the House of Night series, or its' characters. They belong to P.C. And Kristin Cast. I also don't own the Sweep series, or its' characters. Those belong to Cate Tiernan. All I have is this story.

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><p><strong>~ Chapter Four ~<strong>

**Zoey**

_**The man came up from behind me...I didn't see him coming...The car door slammed shut...I heard Stark screaming my name...They did something to me, the two men who grabbed me.** I had been drifting in and out of consciousness. It had felt like I was stuck deep in a ball-pit, hearing snippets of conversations but unable to come to the surface. The car stayed at the regulation speed, it never sped up or slowed down. I had lain on the floor in the backseat. The man who had grabbed me kept his foot lightly on my stomach. He spoke to the man driving._

"_What are we going to do now, Ciaran?" he had asked._

"_Now, we deliver her and I go see my daughter," the man, Ciaran, answered. At the word 'daughter', an image of the brown hair, hazel eyed girl from my dream had flashed through my mind. Things had gotten fuzzy after that and I passed out again._

I came to in a nearly dark room. There were only two candles in sconces on the wall. Nothing else was really in the room, except for the uncomfortable chair I was sitting in, in the center of the room. I tried to move my arms, but they were bound and stung like a cold tentacle was wrapped around them, binding me to the chair. Looking down, I saw what was really holding me. Darkness. It writhed and squeezed like it was a living thing. I swallowed down my fear, and glanced around the room again.

The door directly in front of me suddenly opened. It opened slowly, as if the person behind it wanted to keep the suspense. I could only catch a glimpse of a long hallway lit by torches on the wall, before she appeared in the doorway.

Neferet.

She looked just the same as the last time I saw her, though a little bit more bloated with power. Her eyes flashed red for a minute before returning to green. She took a few steps into the room.

I turned to the elements. "Spirit, come to me," I murmured, without really moving my lips. I didn't want to alert Neferet to what I was doing. I waited to feel spirit, to feel its' comforting presence. It never came. The element I always felt closest to, always so eager to please, didn't respond. I couldn't feel it at all.

I opened my eyes, looking at Neferet in disbelief. What did she do?

Neferet smiled. "The elements are no help to you here. Your powers are contained and blocked. You're about as powerless as that chair," she explained.

I sat up straighter in the chair. "I have to applaud you, Neferet." I told her. Her eyebrows rose in either surprise or speculation, I didn't know which. "You did a wonderful job of luring me here and getting some stranger to kidnap me. I guess it's easy to get someone to do your bidding after you've seduced them."

My insult didn't seem to faze her. She stepped forward again, starting to walk around me slowly. "I've come to expect your childish outbursts; they make this game all the more fun," Neferet articulated. As she passed behind me, her hand ran along the back of the chair and her fingers brushed against me, causing me to shiver. "In fact, feel free to talk as much as you want. It will be good entertainment. Of course, nothing will be better than watching your death."

"It's funny how you think you're going to get away with this," I said.

She came back around to stand in front of me. "Aren't I?" She grinned a fey smile, completely lethal.

"My friends are looking for me," I warned her. I resisted the urge to move my arms; the Darkness will only hold on tighter. "If I die, they'll know it was you. Stark will never let you get away with this."

"Oh, my dear _priestess_," Neferet leaned down close to me, looking me squarely in the eye. "I believe that your friends are a bit preoccupied at the moment. Your warrior won't be saving you this time."

"What did you do to them?" I stopped myself from yelling, but I was screaming on the inside. Stark. Stevie Rae. Damien. All of my friends possibly in danger or hurt...because of me.

"You really shouldn't be worrying about them, Zoey," Neferet told me. "Not when you're the one in immediate danger."

I was scared that this was it. That this was the moment when she was finally going to kill me. I tried to lock away my fear, so that I could be brave in the face of death. I couldn't let Stark know how scared I was; I had to be brave. Stark was going to be able to know when I die, but if I could just spare him a little bit, then I'll be okay.

"Time to see if this will work," Neferet said, mostly to herself. Before I could say or do anything, she pulled out a ceremonial dagger from her waist. It was silver, except for the handle which was white marble and a bull's horns decorating the end of the dagger.

Neferet walked closer to me and flipped my right hand over, palm facing up. She slashed the dagger across my palm. The pain was intense, and I gritted my teeth against it. She slit her own left palm, and then, in a flash, had pressed our bleeding cuts together. All I could do was stare, horrified, as she began muttering something.

"What are you-" I stopped with a gasp. One minute, I felt the elements swirl around me. Air's soft caress, fire's warmth, water's coolness, earth's sweet aroma, and spirit's calmness. Then, it felt like my powers were being pulled away from me, draining me. I was being drained of my powers and they were being absorbed... My eyes widened, glancing up at Neferet. She didn't see me; her were closed, feeling my magick seep into her. She threw her head back and laughed.

The whole thing left me feeling winded and lightheaded. Neferet left shortly after that, saying something about that being only the first session. I don't know, I was barely focused on her. I only had enough energy to send one thought and I prayed to the goddess that it was enough.

_Stark! Help! Stark..._

**Stark**

Stark continued his way along the side of the road. He had found the car about a half mile after he left the others. It was stopped at a red light, and when it turned green, it kept pace with the other cars. He couldn't really run out into the street up to the car in heavy traffic. So, he stayed on the sidewalk, inconspicuously following the car. The car left the main part of town, and he soon lost it again. Stark wasn't even sure if he was going the right way. Zoey must be unconscious, because he wasn't getting any strong feelings from her, just a feather light touch of her presence.

That was the wrong thought to think, because he all but panicked. He picked up his pace and gripped his bow harder that he thought it might snap like a twig. He couldn't, wouldn't think about that. Zoey _is_ alive. She's resilient, strong, and she has her magick. The elements will protect her; nobody will touch her. Zoey will not die.

More determined than ever, Stark kept on walking. The last house he past was a ways behind him, and the street, now, took a sharp turn to the right and got lost in the midst of trees. This road had to lead to somewhere. When it did, Stark was going to find her.

Stark came around the corner and stopped dead in his tracks. There, a few feet in front of him, loomed a dark shape against the night. The car. "Zoey!" he screamed, and ran to the vehicle.

He got to the car, and immediately started yanking on the rear door. Expecting it to be locked, he was surprised when it opened easily. Inside the car was still, quiet, and empty. The keys still hung from the ignition.

Stark laid his head down on the seat and tried to think. If they ditched the car, where would they go? The woods were the only possibility. Why would they walk along the road instead of taking the car, unless... His heart in his throat, Stark grabbed the keys and rushed to the back of the car. He stuck the key in the lock, turned it, and popped the trunk open. He could breathe normally again when he saw the trunk was empty. But it meant that Zoey was out there somewhere.

Frustrated, he threw the keys as hard as he could. He walked back around the car. Stark placed his arm on top of the open door and leaned his forehead against it. If he could just have a clue to tell him where she was or just that she was okay. Anything, anything at all.

As he was staring into the backseat, something caught his eye that he didn't see before on the floor. Stark leaned forward to get a closer look. His eyes widened as he recognized the seer stone Queen Sgiach gave to Zoey as they were leaving the Isle of Skye. The chain was broken, but that was easily replaced; Zoey wasn't. He snatched up the stone. Suddenly, an onslaught of emotions hit him.

_Stark! Help! Stark..._ Zoey.

She was awake, and she was calling him. He glanced around to pinpoint where it was coming from. There, to the left of the car, into the woods. Stark stuffed the seer stone into his pocket for safe keeping, slamming the car door shut. He picked his bow up from where he set it on the ground, and ran into the woods.

_I'm coming, Z. Just hold on, I'm coming._

**The Warehouse**

"Who would have thought it was going to be this easy?"

The female voice floated through the dark corridor toward the group of witches and vampyres who huddled by the door. They could hear someone in boots moving around, followed by the rustle of wings.

"Selene, don't be rude, invite our guests inside." This male voice was closer, almost directly behind the group.

"Of course, where are my manners?" the female voice said back, and a moment later, her footsteps echoed down the hall. She was holding a torch that allowed the group to see a little better. The woman had brown-black hair and her face was twisted up in a cruel smile. The witches instantly recognized her as Selene Belltower. "Hello, so nice of you to join us. I believe some of you have already met my friend, Kalona."

The vampyres turned around and saw Kalona standing there like a beautiful, deadly angel, his ebony wings ruffling behind him. "Let's move our little gathering to a different room, so that we can to get to know each other better." Kalona began walking, urging the group forward. Selene took up the rear, murmuring spells on any stragglers.

Two big doors appeared up on the left, thrown open to show a wide, mostly empty room. It was lit by torches hung on the walls and there was one chair in the back center of the room. One lone window sat above the chair. More raven mockers lined the room. Two figures approached the doorway; a male vampyre with red marks like Stevie Rae, and a female fledgling with a red crescent moon on her forehead.

They all piled into the room, and more red fledglings appeared, grabbing them and taking their bags, cell phones, and other possessions.

"Guys, your elements, now!" Stevie Rae whispered fiercely. She focused on her element, earth, and saw Damien, Erin, and Shaunee doing the same. She had to concentrate hard, because it felt like she was working through a barrier.

"Goddess, protect us." Hunter started murmuring protection spells and he glanced over a Sky, who was doing the same thing. He tried to catch his other covenants' attention, to get them to do it, too. Alisa, Bree, and Robbie did.

Kalona was staring at them, eyes narrowed. He leaned toward Selene. "The circle is gaining power," he muttered, nodding his head toward Stevie Rae and her friends.

"Oh, no, no, no," Selene tisked. "That can't happen." She walked over to the group and stopped. She stared at them for a moment, taking them all in, and she raised her hands.

"Clathna, berrin, ne ith rah."

Hunter's eyes widened as he recognized the words. He started to her. "No, stop!" But the male red vampyre grabbed him, forcing him back. Selene didn't blink.

"Clathna ter, ne feath ullna stath. Morach bis, mea cern, cern mea." Selene continued, sweeping her arms toward Stevie Rae and her friends. "Clathna berrin, ne ith rah!" Stevie Rae, Damien, Erin, and Shaunee fell to their hands and knees, helpless under Selene's will.

Kalona stepped in and around the fallen ones. Looking down to where his son, Rephaim, was attending to Stevie Rae, Kalona grabbed his son up and away from the girl. His amber eyes landed on Hunter.

"Don't bother with the spells; they won't work," Kalona informed him. Hunter returned his steady gaze with one of his own, his lips falling silent of the spells. The others stopped as well.

"Separate them," Selene ordered the red fledglings. Four of them stepped forward, each taking one of the four under the binding spell, except Stevie Rae, and depositing them in each corner of the room. Then it was the witches' turn. Selene pulled Robbie away and pushed him down with Erin, along with Darius. Sky and Aphrodite went to the back right corner of the room. Alisa to Shaunee, and, lastly, Hunter to Damien at the front left corner of the room. Jack, Mary K., Bree, Stevie Rae, and Rephaim stayed where they were, no one ordering them around.

Selene tapped her finger against her cheek, pretending to be deep in thought. "Mmm, what to do with you five?" She made a slow, languid circle around them.

Stevie Rae was still on the floor, struggling to get out from the binding spell. Rephaim wanted to go to her, but Kalona stood in front of him, blocking his way. Bree stood stubbornly, not willing to show her fear. Mary K. had her arms wrapped around herself and was trying to will herself to stop shaking. Jack put his hand on her arm discreetly, going for comfort. They looked at each other, and then back to Kalona and Selene.

"I'll take them," Kalona spoke up. He didn't wait for Selene. He moved a resistant Bree and an immobile Stevie Rae to one side of the chair in front of the window. Rephaim to the front of the chair, and Mary K. and Jack to the other side of it. Kalona sat down comfortably and gazed at the five surrounding him, his own personal play things.

There was a tense short silence that no one dared to move or breathe loudly. Then, there was a collective gasp from the four incapacitated ones as Selene released them from her binding spell.

"Are you okay?" Hunter asked Damien, as he helped him to sit up. "Binding spells are some serious spells, believe me."

"I'm fine," Damien replied. Having the ability to control his body taken away was disconcerting and he was glad to have it back, though he still felt a little weak. He glanced around the room, trying to take everything in.

Hunter suddenly jerked when he heard a familiar voice inside his head. _Hunter, I need you_. It was Morgan. _Ciaran. Please come. Hurry!_

Damien was studying him, wondering what happened. Hunter averted Damien's studious gaze, trying to get his emotions in check.

"So, what? Now we just sit here and stare at each other until you decide to kill us," came Sky's voice from across the room.

"Oh, the decision has already been made," Selene said. "You all will die. It's only a matter of when."

Kalona laughed after a minute of silence. "But that's all in good time," he reassured, his hand sliding through Bree's hair.

"What do you want?" Hunter asked.

"Silence." Kalona stated. He gave a small nod of his head, and a raven mocker suddenly plunged a metal pipe into Alisa's side. She fell to the floor with a cry of pain.


	5. Dawn of Destruction

**Author's Note: **I'm sorry for the long wait. I hope I still have readers out there, and I'm really trying to not have these long waits between chapters; I'm trying to do better. Anyway, please enjoy :)

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the House of Night series, or its' characters. They belong to PC and Kristin Cast. I also do not own the Sweep series, or its' characters. They belong to Cate Tiernan. All I have is this story/plot line.

* * *

><p><strong>~ Chapter Five ~<strong>

_**The Warehouse**_

Hunter was on his feet even before Alisa hit the floor. Shaunee, who had been standing next to the younger girl, caught her before she fell and lowered to the floor. Hunter was grabbed by one of the red fledglings; no one was allowed to move.

Darius had moved at the same time Hunter did. Though, of course, he was grabbed, too. However, he easily outmaneuvered the fledgling and made a beeline to the injured young witch.

"Freeze!" Selene said evenly, though her voice echoed through the room. Darius stopped in his tracks, his feet rooted to the floor as he tried to free himself. "Perhaps you all have forgotten our little arrangement. No one speaks or moves unless you want to die a very painful death."

"Alisa needs help or she's going to bleed to death," Hunter argued as Shaunee struggled to help Alisa.

Selene ignored Hunter, instead she walked over to Darius. "And what do you think you'll be able to do for her?" she asked, walking a slow circle around Darius.

"I have medical training," Darius explained, following Selene with his eyes. "There's probably little supplies here, but I know how to tend to a wound of this caliber."

Meanwhile, Damien slowly reached up and tugged on Hunter's jacket to get his attention. "Sit down. There's nothing you can do right now," he whispered. Hunter hesitated and then sat down.

Everybody else watched Selene with Darius. "Well, you see, I can't let you do that. What will the others think if I allow you to wander and not them?" Selene responded.

"Let him help her," Kalona spoke up. He sat down in the chair, crossing his arms and stretching his legs out in front of him, blocking Rephaim from inching any closer to Stevie Rae. "There is nothing he can really do, except make her journey from this world to the next comfortable."

Selene stared at him for a few seconds, and then released Darius. Darius hurried over to Alisa and Shaunee, who moved over to make room for him, grateful that he could take over.

Darius shucked off his jacket and instructed Shaunee to do the same. "We'll need them to stop the bleeding later," he explained, "Right now, the pipe is doing that."

Alisa was lying on her side, her head in Shaunee's lap. "What do we do now?" Shaunee asked, glancing down at Alisa's pale face. She was rather still for someone who was just stabbed with a foreign object; she must be going into shock.

"I check to see if she has any internal bleeding," Darius told her, "That way we know if we should pull the pipe out now or wait." He went to work running his hands over Alisa's stomach, pushing gently with his fingertips. He sat back. "I think we're good."

Suddenly, there was a cry from the center of the room. "She needs to go to the hospital!" Mary K. cried. "She's going to die if she doesn't!" She ended in a sob.

Kalona's head snapped to her. Jack put his hand on Mary K.'s arm to calm her, but it didn't detract from Kalona's attention.

"Curb you hysterics or my sons will fillet you just like your friend," Kalona ordered, not raising his voice an inch. Mary K. covered her face with her hands, trying to get her emotions in check.

**xXx**

"Shaunee." Darius said, bringing the girl's attention back to him. "I need you to hold her still while I pull the pipe out. Be ready with the jackets, there's going to be a lot of blood." Shaunee nodded, reaching for her jacket.

"I'm so...cold," came Alisa's small, frail voice.

Shaunee and Darius exchanged looks. Then, Shaunee looked back down at Alisa. She stroked the girl's black hair in a soothing way. "I'm going to help you," Shaunee whispered, "You don't know me, but I can help you." Alisa stared up at her. Shaunee focused on her element, willing it to come to her. Fire's warmth burned through her like a small flame. _Fire, this girl needs you. Give her your warmth and strength to help her through this,_ Shaunee thought. Fire encircled her once more, then left, flowing into Alisa. Alisa gave a small sigh as the coldness left her.

"Alright, on three," Darius said, getting into position to pull the pipe out of Alisa. Shaunee gripped Alisa's shoulders to keep her still. "One...two..." Suddenly, Kalona was there, yanking the pipe out without any further thought or hesitation. Alisa screamed, an agonized scream full of pain. Shaunee and Darius rushed to put pressure on the wound; one on Alisa's front and one her back.

"Three." Kalona stated. He held the bloody pipe in his hand, tossing it up in the air and catching it again. "Drama is only exciting to a certain point and then it gets drawn out and very tedious."

Darius barely had time to spare Kalona a glance. He pulled off his belt. "Here, lift her up a little bit," he instructed, "I'm going to put this around her." Shaunee did as she was told, holding Alisa up as Darius wrapped the belt around her and the jackets, and tightened it.

**xXx**

"This is ridiculous," Sky muttered from where she sat on the other side of the room. "What do they even want from us?"

"Haven't you been paying attention?" Aphrodite snorted, sarcasm flowing from every word. She was leaning against the wall, her arms crossed over her chest. "They want our deaths."

"Well, excuse me, if I haven't resigned myself to dying just yet," Sky shot back at her. She watched as Kalona sat relaxed and comfortable in the chair, rolling the bloody silver pipe between his hands while Darius worked to save Alisa's life. Selene paced the width of the room, occasionally stopping to shoot Kalona a glare.

"I don't see how we could even get out of here," Aphrodite replied, a little more sincerely. "If we can get past these two, there's no way we can get by all these damn raven mockers."

"We need a diversion," Sky said, matter of fact.

"And who will the unlucky person be..." Aphrodite trailed off, as she looked at the red fledglings around the room, then at Alisa and back again. "The blood has to be driving them crazy."

"I think we just found our diversion," Sky replied, meeting Aphrodite's eyes, who narrowed hers.

**xXx**

Erin sat on the floor in the front corner of the room across from Hunter and Damien. She hugged her legs to her chest, moving closer to the hot guy sitting next to her. "This is really scary," Erin whispered, "I don't know how we can get out of here."

"We just have to stay quiet and try not to make them mad," Robbie whispered back to her. "Then we can figure out what it is they want."

"I'll do whatever you say," Erin whispered, sliding her arm through his. Robbie glanced down at it confusedly, then looked back out at the room.

**xXx**

"Stevie Rae had said that you lost somebody, correct?" Hunter asked, turning to face Damien. Once Damien nodded, Hunter asked another question. "What is she to you?"

"Besides our friend, Zoey is our high priestess," Damien answered, taking turns looking at Hunter and the rest of the room.

"She's powerful?" Hunter questioned.

"Yes, why?" Damien stared at him, eyebrows drawn together.

Hunter took a deep breath and said, "Morgan, my girlfriend, well she's more than that, she's one of the most powerful witches that's come around in generations and she's been taken too."

"That sounds like more than just a coincidence," Damien mused, running a hand over his chin thoughtfully.

Hunter nodded. "A while ago, Morgan sent me a witch message saying that she was with Ciaran, her father. Which I don't understand, because last I heard, he was in Scotland after we stripped him of his powers."

"Could he be working with someone?" Damien wondered, wishing he had a pencil and some paper. Things always seemed clearer on paper.

"Seeing as Selene is back from the dead, I'd say anything is possible at this point," Hunter looked over his shoulder. Kalona was still sitting in his chair tapping a musical beat against the floor with the metal pipe he still held. Selene stood over Darius, watching him with Alisa. Hunter didn't see her gun, but he knew she still had it with her.

"What does Ciaran look like?" Damien asked suddenly.

Hunter looked back at Damien. "Older, mid-forties. Hazel eyes and graying hair," Hunter answered.

Damien's eyes widened as Hunter finished. He said, "I think he's the one who took Zoey."

**xXx**

"Is she still alive?" Selene asked Darius from where she stood behind him. Her arms were crossed as she feigned interest and caring.

"Yes, but she needs stitches and a sterile environment or infection is going to set in," Darius told her, unable to keep the anger and frustration out of his voice.

"Oh, what a shame," Selene said, "After all you've done for her, she's going to die anyway. Ah, well, you can't save them all." Selene put her hand on Darius' shoulder and knelt down next to him. "Be a dear, and make her journey to the next world comfortable."

Darius would have loved to turn around, grab Selene by the throat, and squeeze until every breath in her body was gone. But he couldn't do that. Acting recklessly in this kind of situation would only get yourself and others killed. So, he only jerked his shoulder out from under her hand and ignored her.

A cry of pain from the center of the room stole Selene's attention from Darius. Everybody else in the room turned toward the sound as well. Rephaim was folded in on himself, his head touching the floor and his hands curled into fists. He was moaning and grunting as an unseen pain shuddered through him.

"What's the matter with you?" Selene asked Rephaim, when she walked closer to him.

Rephaim didn't, couldn't, say anything.

"What's wrong with him?" Bree whispered, not really expecting an answer.

Stevie Rae was watching Rephaim, concern written all over her face. She wanted to go over to him, comfort him, but she was afraid of what Kalona or Selene would do if she did. "You remember when Hunter asked if Rephaim was one of them," she nodded toward the raven mockers. "and I said that it was a long story?"

Bree nodded, encouraging Stevie Rae to continue.

"Well, he was one, but he chose Light over Darkness, betraying his father," Stevie Rae explained, nodding at Kalona. "The goddess gifted him with a human form, but, because of his past actions, he's cursed to turn into a raven every sunrise to sunset."

"Wow, he must really love you to go through all that," Bree replied, wide-eyed.

Stevie Rae looked down for second, blushing, then back up at Rephaim. "I have to help him," Stevie Rae said. She uncrossed her legs and started to move toward Rephaim.

Sensing her movement, Rephaim's head snapped up, his eyes locked on hers just as Kalona's leg swung in front of Stevie Rae, blocking her path.

"Don't," Rephaim mouthed to her. Then, he turned his head slightly to where Selene was standing before him. "Take me out of the room," Rephaim said, as his body convulsed violently once, twice. "Please, I don't want everybody to see this."

Some of the hostages were turning away instead of watching his painful transformation. Selene didn't say anything for a moment, and then she said to the raven mockers. "You heard him. He can have his very own private quarters for this momentous occasion." She turned away from Rephaim as two raven mockers came forward to collect him.

"Goddess knows we have enough birds in here," Selene muttered, though everyone heard her. "We don't need to add to the flock."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The two raven mockers dragged Rephaim out of the main room into the hall, pulling Rephaim deeper into the warehouse. They stopped at the end of the hall, and one of the raven mockers swung open a door. Rephaim was thrown inside right before the last torrent of pain hit him before the change. This room was small like a closet and the silence was deafening. The darkness was the last thing he saw as a human.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Stark<strong>_

Stark tramped through the forest, following Zoey's thoughts and emotions. He was certain he was going the right way, even though he was heading deeper into the forest with no sign of life. The only sign of life he has seen is two raccoons that he startled out of hiding. He knew Zoey was scared, but she was trying to hide it from him. Neferet did something to her; he felt it when it happened, and it left Zoey weak and a little disoriented. Every time his pace started to slow, Stark would quicken it just as fast. He was afraid that their connection would fade and he'll have no way to find her. Then, he truly would lose her.

Suddenly, Stark heard the crunch of leaves underfoot a few feet to his left. His head snapped toward the sound, his movements considerably slowing then stopping altogether. Stark listened carefully, knowing it wasn't a deer or some other woodland animal. The footsteps were heavier, not as light as an animal's tends to be. It was human, most likely male. Stark didn't know why this person was in the woods or why they were following him, but he couldn't assume they weren't dangerous.

Stark slowly pulled out an arrow and nocked it on is bow. He held the bow loosely in two hands, ready to take an offensive stance if need be. "Show yourself!" Stark yelled into the trees.

The footsteps stopped. Silence.

Then, the footsteps began again, this time coming towards Stark. The guy appeared out of the trees, approaching the small clearing where Stark stood. He was about Stark's age, maybe a little older, with black hair and gold eyes and a strong-looking body. He also had a backpack on his shoulders. This guy didn't look dangerous, but appearances can be deceiving, just like the man who took Zoey.

"Drop your weapon," the guy told him. "I'm no threat to you."

Stark didn't lower his bow. "I don't know that," he retorted, "Why are you following me?"

"I'm not," he said calmly. "I sensed someone in these woods, someone who could quite possibly help me. Someone who, I just now realized, is not human at all, but a vampyre."

"What do you mean you sensed me?" Stark kept his aim on the boy. "How could I possibly help you? And how do you know what I am?"

"I'm a witch, my mother taught me a lot, some about your kind," he explained. "I know you lost somebody. I might know where she is."

Stark had started to lower his weapon, but raised it again when he finished. "Is that because you're part of the group that took her?" Stark shot at him.

"No, but my mother is," the guy said. "She's allied herself with two other evil forces. I'm turned my back on her, but I may be able to use what I know to find them?" Then, much quieter, he added, "They've taken someone I love too."

"I'm not saying I trust you, but I know a little something or other about turning you back on evil," Stark replied, "I don't need any help; I've got my own way of finding her. It's very reliable."

"Are you sure about that?" he asked him. "Because knowing my mother, she's probably spelled wherever she's at and anywhere within a ten-mile radius of it. But as long as you know where you're going, that's the important thing, right?"

Stark was quiet for a minute, thinking. Finally, he spoke, "Prove you are what you say you are." He lowered the bow to point at the ground, instead of at the other guy's heart.

The boy sighed and dropped his backpack on the ground. Stark watched as the guy stood there silently, taking deep even breaths. After a moment of silence, the bow ripped itself out of Stark's hands. The boy wrapped his own hand around the bow with a satisfied grin.

Stark should have been shocked, but he wasn't. He was too used seeing Zoey using her magick. "Maybe I need your help," Stark said, reluctantly. He went over and snatched his bow back, but stuck out his other hand. "James Stark, but I mostly go by Stark."

The guy took his outstretched hand and replied, "Cal Blaire."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Cal and Stark trekked through the woods side by side, Stark leading the way. They were quiet majority of the time, only really speaking when the silence got awkward. They talked about what they were and what they each knew about the situation.

"You still haven't told me your special way of finding your priestess," Cal commented as he moved hanging branches out of his way.

Stark hadn't planned on telling him, but Cal has already released more information than he has. If they were going to trust on another, they couldn't have any secrets. "She and I have a special bond," Stark explained, ducking his head under a low-lying branch. "I gave her my Warrior's Oath and she accepted it. It's a sacred oath that binds us together in an intimate way. When her emotion's are strong enough, I can feel them and hear her thoughts. They tend to get stronger the closer I get to her." Stark stared straight ahead as he spoke, barely glancing at Cal.

They lapsed into another silence; Stark figuring that Cal didn't know what to say or he was still processing it. Cal looked up at the sliver of sky he could see through the canopy of trees and realized the sky was starting to lighten. Dawn was coming. Stark was watching the darkness on his skin get lighter as the sun began its' ascent. He could already tell there wasn't going to be enough shade to keep up the search for Zoey. He was going to burn to death in this forest if he didn't do something.

"Shit," Stark muttered to himself, then out loud he said, "I need to find shelter. Now." He walked ahead of Cal, with a determined stride.

"And where do expect to find shelter, warrior? In case you haven't noticed we are in the middle of the woods." Cal pointed out. "Oh, wait, I think I see a knothole in one of those trees. Do you think it'll be big enough for the two of us? It might be a tight squeeze, but, who knows, it could be cozy." Cal shook his head, laughing quietly to himself. "Besides, we can't stop. We have to keep going."

"Believe me, no one wants to keep going as much as I do, but I'm no good to Zoey as a pile of ashes," Stark replied, biting back a sarcastic remark. Stark continued, " You have no reason to help me, but if your girlfriend is being held with Zoey and I die, you're screwed." He glanced nervously up at the sky.

"Well, if you insist on being dramatic about it," Cal said, taking his backpack off and putting it on the ground. He knelt down and started rummaging through its' contents.

Stark glared at him, curling his fists and contemplated about how good it would feel to send an arrow straight through Cal's heart. Then, he saw the sky turning a singe of pink. He saw Cal still on the ground, playing with his bag. Sighing, he walked away, mumbling, "I don't have time for this."

Finally, Cal found what he was looking for. A rolled-up tent. "Here," he said, throwing the bundle at Stark.

"Thanks," Stark accepted, catching the tent. He put it on the ground and began to set it up.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

After the tent was set up, Cal sat down on a log he had pulled over and started taking out stones, quartz, and his athame from his bag. He picked up a blueish-gray quartz, held it between his hands and murmured a spell over it. When he finished, he looked up at Stark and held out the quartz. "Take this," Cal told him. "Keep it with you at all times. I've spelled it to cloak your essence. We don't need anyone sneaking up on us while you're...napping."

Stark narrowed his eyes at the stone, but he took it anyway and put it in his pocket. He would have said something had he not started feeling the fatigue that the sun always brings to him. Stark nodded his thanks and crawled inside the tent. _I'm not leaving you, Z,_ he thought as he laid down to sleep. _I'm coming for you._

Cal sat outside, fiddling with his athame. He was going to put protection spells around their campsite, but he just couldn't concentrate. His thoughts kept going to Morgan. _I am sorry, Morgan. For everything I have ever done to you._ He didn't dare say the words, in case Stark was still awake. _I love you, Morgan._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Thank you for reading and please, please review. A lot of reviews make me happy and happiness gets you another update :)


	6. One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

**Author's Note: **I'm sorry for the long wait. I hope I still have readers out there, and I'm really trying to not have these long waits between chapters; I'm trying to do better. Updates are supposed to be monthly, we'll see how that goes. Anyway, please enjoy :)

On a side note: If you guys are curious about the Sweep series/characters, you should read The** Equestrian Writer's** version of this story. It goes deeper with those characters in the beginning and she writes really well that you feel like you know the characters even if you haven't read the books. :) I'll post the link

s/7428357/1/When-Evil-Fights-Back

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the House of Night series, or its' characters. They belong to PC and Kristin Cast. I also do not own the Sweep series, or its' characters. They belong to Cate Tiernan. All I have is this story/plot line.

* * *

><p><strong>~ Chapter Six ~<strong>

_**Zoey**_

I have to get out of here. I know Stark is probably killing himself trying to find me, but I can't count that he'll be able to get pass Neferet alone. Neferet was already in here once to siphon off my powers and I know she'll come in here again. She started to come in before, but a man's voice called to her. I could only get a glimpse of the same hallway that I saw the last time, until she closed the door, leaving me in the empty darkness once again.

The Darkness binding me to the chair cut into my wrists, causing them to bleed which only made the Darkness hold on to me tighter. I've fought against the Darkness before, but I've never been held down by it before. I keep trying to connect to the elements, my magick, anything, but I kept coming up against a brick wall. I couldn't allow that to stop me, though. I've been through so much, I can get myself out this. I have to try.

I lifted my arms up off the chair, straining against the Darkness. "Spirit, strengthen me," I whispered, hoping that speaking aloud would work better. I pushed against the Darkness, trying to weaken it or stretch it so that maybe I could slip my hands through. The Darkness burned my skin the more I touched it. My wrists were raw and bleeding, and the Darkness just lapped up my blood like it was nothing. I couldn't help the small anguished cry that escaped my lips.

"Nyx, help me," I whispered again. "I need your help, I can't do this alone." I sent a prayer up to the goddess, knowing that she could hear me. Nyx would find a way to help me. I know that deep down in my soul. I just couldn't give up.

Having an idea, I closed my eyes and centered myself. I forced the pain to the back of my mind as I took a deep breath. Suddenly, a warmth of lavender swept around me and I heard the soft, whispery, familiar voice whispering to me in my mind.

_I'm always with you, daughter._

I smiled, despite the situation. Time to get out of here. "Fire, come to me," I commanded, in a low voice. A minute or so passed and I didn't feel anything. Then, I felt just the smallest prick of heat; it was coming slowly, breaking through a magickal barrier. "Fire." I demanded with more force than before. The small flicker turned to a great flame.

It felt so good to have the elements responding to me again. But I wasn't done yet. "Fire, match the Darkness with heat of your own," I commanded again. "Burn these binds until they let me go."

Fire obliged happily as it always does. The heat intensified on my wrists and I could even begin to feel it on my ankles through the fabric of my jeans. I squeezed my eyes shut and bit my lip, still focusing on fire. It burned and burned, until I thought my skin was going to fall off. Finally, there was a break in the heat and, opening my eyes, I saw the Darkness uncurling from around me and slinking to the back corner.

I jumped out of my chair, reaching for the door. I put my hand on the cold handle of the door, not wasting any time. Who knows if the Darkness will grab me again. Knowing Neferet, she ordered it to keep a hold on me. I pushed the handle down, and, gently, slowly, pushed the door slightly ajar. That's when I heard footsteps coming closer.

I froze, holding my breath. Through the crack in the door, I could only make out more blackness, but also a slight flickering of a torch. I prayed it wasn't Neferet, because then my escape plan would be compromised. The footsteps were right outside my door now and I waited for Neferet to yank the door all the way open.

It didn't happen. Whoever it was outside my door turned around and started walking back the way they'd come. I let out the breath I was holding and eased the door open again. I peeked out into the hallway, finding the retreating outline of a figure. He didn't seem to have heard me. So I stepped fully out into the hall, and closed the door quietly behind me.

Keeping my eyes on the dark, even in the torchlight, figure, I moved cautiously to the left wall, my hands sliding forward along the wall. Suddenly, the figure whipped around, and, I realized too late, that it was a raven mocker. Its' wings unfurled partway and its' maw was wide open, a terrible scream escaping fro.

I lurched back against the wall in surprise, my mouth open in a silent scream. I started to run forward and that's when the raven mocker ran at me. There was little time to waste. I'm sure if Neferet was still inside somewhere, she would have heard the raven mocker and be on her way here right now.

"Spirit, take it down," I shouted, 'cause really stealth was out of the question now. I didn't know if it would work, but it was the only thing I could do. I couldn't really set a blaze in here while I still stood in here. A rush of spirit soared through me, and the raven mocker crashed against the wall. It lay on the floor, frozen in place, as if it was held there by an invisible force.

As soon as it was incapacitated, I took off down the hall. The hall kept on going straight, but there was also another passage coming up on the left. I didn't know which way to go and I only had split second to decide. Following a feeling in my gut, I turned down the left hall and came to an abrupt stop.

"Well, well, well, just as I expected. You're not that unpredictable, Zoey."

I had stumbled into a big open room with a long mahogany table in the center of this new room. Neferet sat at the head of the table, leaning back in her chair with her arms crossed, holding a glass of wine. It was surely laced with blood. The way out of this room was all the way across the room. There was no way I could get there without Neferet stopping me. I was going to have to fight my way out.

"So you're just sitting out here waiting for me to try to escape," I said, trying to inch my way to the exit while never taking my eyes off Neferet. "What is you big plan anyway?"

Neferet placed her glass on the table and stood up. She was dressed a bit more casually today in black pants and a black blazer with what looked like nothing underneath. Her heels clicked on the floor as she came around the table to face me. "Why, Zoey, I've already told you that," she chided, "You've always had a problem listening to your High Priestess."

I ignored her latter comment; she was just trying to bait me. "Right, I forgot, you're stealing my powers," I snorted. "You're not in the service of Nyx anymore, you're no one's High Priestess."

The sound of something heavy hitting the floor in the hallway behind me reverberated through the air. Neferet's eyes flicked past my shoulder, and I inched another step toward the exit under her distraction. Her eyes rested back on me, freezing me in my tracks. "Don't I know it, but soon, I will be everyone's Goddess," Neferet smiled sadistically.

"Nyx would never let that happen," I threw at her, hoping she didn't see me take another small step. "And if she can't do anything, I will stop you." I could feel my power building through my words.

Neferet threw her head back and laughed. "Zoey, you haven't been a threat to me in a long time," she chortled, crossing her arms. "Only a small nuisance. And once I possess you incredible powers, you'll be nothing."

"My friends-" I started to say.

"-have all been detained at the moment," Neferet finished above me. "And soon they will be dead, too."

Suddenly, her eyes flicked to the spot behind me again. Her eyes narrowed, a small grin teasing at her lips. "Oh, please, join us, little witch. Your father is out preparing the ritual, but he'll be back soon," she called out, to the seemingly empty hallway.

My curiosity getting the better of me, I turned to see who she was referring to. From around the corner opposite the way my cell had been, came a girl my own age I instantly recognized. It was the same girl from my dream, the same long brown hair and hazel eyes. The sleeves of her sweater were pushed up slightly revealing that she had the same red marks on her wrists as me.

"What am I do to with you two now?" Neferet said, tapping her chin with her finger and pacing back and forth in front of us.

"What ritual? What are you going to do?" the other girl asked Neferet, stepping further into the room. "And how do we-" she gestured to herself and me. "-fit into it?"

"Haha, all in good time, Morgan dear, all in good time," Neferet replied, stopping between us. "Now," she snapped her fingers at her obedient companion, Darkness. The Darkness slithered up in the air next to her. "Do this for me now and you shall receive your payment later. Bind these two up harder and take them back to their cells."

_Spirit, protect myself and Morgan,_ I thought, quickly. Spirit wrapped around me in its' soothing embrace and did the same to Morgan. I felt fire join us, but I didn't call it. I looked over at Morgan and saw that she wrapped in the same glow as Shaunee whenever fire was called to the circle. She was as determined as I was to not go back to the cells.

The darkness slunk closer. Fire suddenly exploded into being, blocking the Darkness' descent on us. I knew Morgan had done it. Almost immediately after that, I heard a voice in my head and it sounded just like Morgan. _Can you send out your element, too. The more, the better,_ she said. I looked at Morgan for confirmation and she nodded toward the fire and the Darkness. I nodded back, _Spirit, join fire in keeping the Darkness away._ Spirit obeyed, flying out towards the Darkness, causing it to shrink back.

Suddenly, I heard heavy footsteps coming from the hallway on the other side of the room. Then the man who had first kidnapped me stepped through the doorway. "I leave for only a few hours and you let them both escape," he said to Neferet, taking in the scene inside the room.

"I have things well in hand, you can go back to your cauldron now," Neferet told him, I believe is name was Ciaran. She was staring Morgan and I down, and I saw the Darkness starting to creep over the top of the flames.

"We can't keep this up forever," I whispered to Morgan, keeping my eyes on Neferet.

"I know," Morgan whispered back, agreeing.

"Apparently, our definitions of handling it differs," Ciaran was saying. He started murmuring something I couldn't hear. Then my body went numb as I lost control and I dropped to my knees. I didn't know what Ciaran did, but I don't like this feeling or lack thereof. I glanced over at Morgan, she had fallen as well.

The flames died out and I knew spirit had left, too. As Morgan and I struggled on our hands and knees, Neferet and Ciaran moved closer to us. "And you prove yourself useful once again," Neferet replied. She turned to her pet. "Darkness, take them away."

We couldn't even scream as the Darkness wrapped around us once again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_**The Warehouse**_

Rephaim grunted as the raven mocker dumped him onto the floor in front of where Kalona was sitting. His body still ached from the change, but he didn't let it show. Kalona barely even glanced at his son as he stroked Mary K's hair. The younger girl had her eyes squeezed shut, and Rephaim's heart went out to her. Out of the corner of his eye, Rephaim saw Stevie Rae start to move over to him, but Bree stopped her with a hand on her arm, for that Rephaim was glad. He didn't want Stevie Rae getting into trouble with Kalona or Selene.

Kalona watched as Selene eyed him as she paced the length and width of the room. He knew Selene mistrusted him, the feeling was mutual. "It's so nice when everyone is on their best behavior," Kalona said aloud. His words were met with a few discreet glares. He moved his hand down to the back of Mary K's neck. "What do you think everybody should get as a reward?" He turned his charming smile on her.

Mary K shrank into herself, hugging her legs tighter to her chest. She knew not answering him was out of the question. Alisa was stabbed just standing there; she didn't do anything. "You could let us go," Mary K managed to muster, her voice shaking. She turned her face into her shoulder.

"Well, that's just not possible," Selene spoke before Kalona could respond. She sighed, "I'm going to check in with the others. I trust you can handle things in here?" Kalona gave her a flirty smile and a tilt of his head. With a disgusted look, Selene walked out of the room, sliding her gun into the waistband of her jeans. Kalona nodded his head once more at two raven mockers, and the two creatures move to stand in the entrance to the room.

"It's okay, try not to be scared," Jack whispered to Mary K. He tried to put his arm around her shoulders, but she jerked at his touch. He dropped his arm, not a bit offended; he was virtually a stranger to her. "They won't pick on you if you're not that scared."

"I know, it's just that..." she whispered back. She looked around the room at her friends and fellow hostages. Mary K stared longer at the raven mockers and bloodthirsty red fledglings. "We're all going to die, aren't we?" she whimpered.

"Shhh, no," Jack told her. He caught Damien's eye across the room, then nodded at Mary K. _Help her,_ he mouthed. Damien nodded, seeing the upset girl. Jack saw Damien concentrate, and then Mary K visibly relaxed slightly as air enveloped her in its' soft caresses. "Everything's going to be okay," Jack said, smiling a bit.

**xXx**

"I know you want to go to him right now," Bree was whispering to Stevie Rae, trying to reassure her. "I just think that's not a good idea right now." She glanced briefly at Kalona and then returned her gaze to Stevie Rae.

"I know," Stevie Rae sighed, tracing her finger around the side of her worn cowboy boot. "It's just that-I know what he went through alone and what it does to him. I can tell he's hurting, but he doesn't want me to know. Except, I do. I..." She drifted off, unable to finish. Stevie Rae looked up at Rephaim, who was watching her. Their eyes met and Stevie Rae's heart ached to be near him, for him to hold her close and tell her everything is going to be okay.

Bree found Robbie sitting across the room from her. She tried to catch his attention, bu he was whispering something to the blonde girl sitting next to him. Bree couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. Robbie was her boyfriend, and he was forced to sit with some strange girl and comfort her.

Stevie Rae caught Bree's gaze at Erin and Robbie. She was throwing herself all over him. "Hey, Erin is a big flirt," Stevie Rae said to Bree. "She'll flirt with the next hot guy that walks by. And he looks really uncomfortable." She tried to reassure her.

Bree turned to look at Stevie Rae, with a half smile. "Thanks."

**xXx**

"How is she doing?" Shaunee asked Darius, in a whisper. She was leaning with her back against the wall and Alisa's head in her lap. She stroked the younger girl's dark hair, trying to keep her calm. Alisa was just barely conscious, drifting in and out.

Darius sat next to Alisa, keeping an eye on her wound and pulse. "She's doing as well as can be expected under these conditions," Darius explained. He rested his forearms on his knees.

"So, do we just wait and see if they let us go?" Shaunee said bitterly, with a toss of her head toward Kalona.

Darius nodded once. "Just wait, and hope infection doesn't set it," he added.

"That would be bad," Shaunee murmured. And then, before she could talk herself out of it or Selene comes back, she called on her element, the powerful fire. _Fire, go to Alisa and burn away any chances of infection. Help her stay strong, like you do for me._ Fire went willingly to the young injured witch, keeping her strong until help could come.

**xXx**

Aphrodite blew out a long breath and slid down the wall until she was seated on the floor next to Sky. Sky watched her, and discreetly pulled out her athame from her leather jacket. She sneaked a glance at Hunter, who was sitting in the opposite corner diagonal to her. He was watching, but she couldn't tell if the look he was giving her was one of approval or disapproval, maybe it was a little of both. Either way, she was doing this.

Whispering a silence spell, Sky started to draw a circle around her and Aphrodite, when Kalona wasn't looking. When she finished half the circle, Sky handed the dagger to Aphrodite, who had been looking at her with an unreadable expression.

"Can you finish the circle on your side?" Sky asked her. She slid the athame behind herself when Kalona glanced their way.

"And what is a drawing a damn circle on the floor going to do to help us?" Aphrodite asked back, when Kalona had turned away.

"Just do it, and I'll explain after," Sky whispered back, hastily. Aphrodite rolled her eyes, but took the athame anyway. She finished the circle and handed it back to Sky, raising her eyebrows waiting for an explanation.

"It's a protection circle," Sky explained in a whisper. She drew several protection sigils around the front edge of the circle. She also kept looking up to make sure no raven mockers or red fledglings were watching, she didn't trust that Aphrodite would tell her when someone was coming. "It's not much, but it's all I can do right now." Sky sat back when she was finished, sliding her athame back into her jacket. "As long as we stay in the circle, we'll be relatively safe."

Aphrodite and Sky sat back and looked out at the rest of the room. Aphrodite sighed, "Relatively safe is all we can ask for right now."

**xXx**

Erin sat next to Robbie in their corner of the room, her arm looped through his and her head resting on his shoulder. Robbie thought she was a nice girl, a little too forward and he would really like to have his arm back. When she lifted her head, he subtly pulled his arm free. He tried to catch Bree's gaze from where she sat across the room to express his apologies for this girl's behavior, but she wouldn't look at him. Robbie sighed.

Erin mistook that for frustration for their overral situation. "I know, I hope we can get out of here soon," Erin said. "When we do, maybe-"

Suddenly, they felt another presense kneel down next to him. "I'm sorry, princess, that's not going to happen." It was Dallas, the red vampyre with the lightning bolt marks.

"Go away, Dallas, nobody wants you over here," Erin retorted, barely sparing him a glance.

Dallas laughed, "You'll want it sooner or later." Erin gave him a disgusted look; Dallas winked at her. He turned to Robbie. "Keep her warm for me," he smirked.

Robbie was only able to glare at him before he was interrupted.

"Dallas!" Kalona exclaimed, not moving from his feet. "No fraternizing with the hostages. That's my job."

Dallas winked again and then he stood up, walking away. Erin shuddered, and slipped her arm through Robbie's again and laid her head down on his shoulder.

"It's going to be okay," Robbie said, to Erin, unsure of anything else to say, but wanting to assure her somehow. Robbie swallowed hard, wishing he believed his own words.

**xXx**

Hunter shifted the way he was sitting, stretching his legs out in front of him. He leaned his head back against the wall, thinking. He could draw a protection circle around himself and Damien, like Sky did, but, unlike Sky, he was sitting in the front of the room, completely visible to Kalona. Kalona would catch him before he could take his athame out of his pocket. Hunter sighed quietly, crossed his ankles and stuffed his hands inside the pockets of his leather jacket.

"Thank you," Hunter whispered to Damien. When the other guy turned to look at him, Hunter continued, "For what you did for Mary K. She's gone through so much in the past four months, she shouldn't even be in this position. But you put yourself at risk and if Selene had been in here, she probably would have killed you. I'd be more careful from now on."

"It was nothing, I don't like to see others upset," Damien nodded. "But you're right. We need to be more careful with our magick, especially your cousin over there. I'm not so sure that anyone saw her." He still sat cross-legged, and he leaned forward on his arms.

"Yeah, that's Sky," Hunter agreed. "She's too stubborn for her own good. When someone is in trouble, she doesn't hesitate to help regardless of what happens to herself." He started to say something else, but stopped when Selene breezed back into the room. "Oh, boy," Hunter muttered.

"I thought I told you to watch them?" Selene asked Kalona. It sounded like she was in an even worse mood than when she left.

"I did watch them," Kalona replied, his mood going down at her utter lack of faith in him. "They're sitting in their corners like good kids." He smiled at each hostage.

"Then why is this room pulsing with magick?" Selene demanded, standing in the middle of the room and looking at all the hostages. "I'll tell you why, it's because everybody has forgotten who is in charge here. So let me remind you all." She pulled out her gun. "Who should I shoot first? Air? Fire?" Selene pointed the gun first at Damien, and then Shaunee. Then, she turned abruptly and strode over to Sky. "Or Miss thinks-she-can-pull-a-fast-one-on-me?" She dismantled the protection circle around Sky and Aphrodite, and then fixed the gun on Sky.

A minute passed. Then, Kalona blew out a long, drawn out sigh. "Enough with the drama already," he dramatized. "If you're going to shoot her, just shoot her already." He waved his hand in the air dismissively.

Selene snapped her head around to glare at him, the gun still trained on Sky. "As least I'm doing something," She threw at him. "As opposed to you, sitting on your ass."

Kalona cocked his head, his amber eyes narrowing. "You want me to do something?" he questioned.

Selene quirked an eyebrow.

"Fine." Kalona stated. Before anyone could blink, he grabbed Mary K by her hair, stood up, and walked to the center of the room. Mary K whimpered, but she mostly stayed quiet. Kalona turned them in a slow circle, showing everybody, his hand still in her hair at the back of her neck. "Since you all seem so deliberate in breaking the rules, let's put a twist on it," Kalona announced, "If anyone steps out of line or misbehaves, this pretty young lady gets a demerit. Careful, if she gets ten-" He smiled at Mary K. "-we lose a friend."

"Give me the demerits instead!" Hunter volunteered, jumping up from the floor.

"No," Kalona said simply. "I've made my decision, no volunteers." He jerked Mary K's head to make her look at him. "And I'm sorry, my dear, you already have three demerits. Not a good start." Kalona tisked.

Selene lowered her weapon, and walked over to Kalona and Mary K. "Excellent idea, Kalona, that should keep them in line," Selene smiled cruelly. "But first, Dallas would you please search Miss Sky and confiscate any suspicious items she may be withholding."

"With pleasure," Dallas obeyed, his voice sickeningly sweet. He strolled over to Sky and knelt down before her. He grinned at her. "Hey there, princess, you want to give me what you have there?" He wasn't dumb; he knew she was holding something behind her back. He held his hand out.

Sky kept her gaze level with his, not backing down. If there was ever a time to do something, it was now. Her eyes flicked to Hunter still standing across the room. Hunter looked back at her and his own eyes widened. Sky turned her attention back to Dallas, smiling slyly. "You want it?"

Everything after that happened in a flash.

"Sky, no!" Hunter exclaimed, running toward her. Nicole, the dark-haired red fledgling grabbed him, holding him in place. He struggled against her.

Sky had whipped her athame out and pointed it at Dallas' neck. "Enough with these games," Sky addressed Kalona and Selene, but her gaze stayed locked on Dallas. He still had that stupid smirk on his face, like Sky didn't have a dagger to his throat. "Tell us what you want and let us go. Or I'll kill him right now."

"Unfortunately, I could care less if you killed him," Selene said, crossing her arms. "By all means, kill him. It will be one less bloodsucker in the world."

"Sky, don't," Hunter told his cousin, while struggling against Nicole. Sky had touched the athame to Dallas' neck, though she hadn't drawn blood. Yet.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Dallas finally spoke. His chin was raised from the blade almost pressing into his throat. "I could kill you before you can get this dagger all the way in."

"I think I'll take my chances," Sky seethed.

Then, another voice joined the fray. "He's right," Stevie Rae said, standing up. "His powers are really dangerous, lethal even." Another red fledgling grabbed her before she could move.

"Alright, no more heroics," Kalona replied, discouraging anybody else from standing up. "What are you going to do, witch?"

There was a tense silence, where the only sounds were Mary K's quiet sobs of terror. Sky connected with Hunter one more time. Hunter tried to beg her with his eyes to hand the athame over. Sky spoke, "Hunter, get everybody out."

"Noo!" Hunter yelled, lunging forward again. Nicole didn't let him go.

Just as Sky thrust the dagger forward, Dallas grabbed her wrist and sent an electric shock through her. Sky fell to the floor, dropping the dagger and grunting in pain. Hunter struggled more furiously to get to her, but Nicole twisted his arm behind his back and he gritted his teeth in pain.

Kalona sighed, feigning sympathy. "What a shame, but at least we were all entertained for a little while," Kalona said. He nodded toward Dallas. "Dallas, take her out of the room so that she can recuperate in private." Kalona smiled sardonically.

"You bastard," Hunter spat. He stopped struggling and stood still, glaring at Kalona. "You don't care about any of us. We're all just pawns in your game."

In a flash, Kalona grabbed Hunter by the neck and pinned him against the wall. Hunter gasped, trying to get more air to his lungs. "You're right I don't care if you leave this place in a bodybag or with a few less body parts." Kalona hissed. "So, I would curb your outbursts before I decide to kill every last soul in this room," His fingers pressed deeper into Hunter's neck.

Selene walked over to the pair. "That's enough," she snapped, speaking to Kalona. "Have you forgotten the plan? He stays alive."

Kalona didn't move for a moment and everybody was holding their breath, waiting to see what would happen. Finally, Kalona let go and Hunter collapsed to the floor, gasping. "Nicole, search him for anything suspicious," Kalona ordered, turning around and walking away.

Nicole searched Hunter almost too happily, until she came across his athame. She pulled it out, and Selene snatched it from her before she could keep it for herself. Selene also picked up Sky's fallen athame from the floor.

"Now, everybody sit down and behave, before I really begin to lose my temper," Selene ordered.

Kalona was back over with Mary K, who was still frozen in place, his hands on her shoulders. He lowered his head to look her in the eyes. "Sorry, darling," he mock consoled her. "You are up to six demerits now. I'd hope that your fellow hostages will behave to save your life if I were you." He smiled at her, then pushed her down to her spot next to Jack.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_**Stark**_

"C'mon, vamp, get up," Cal said, knocking on the tent where Stark had been sleeping. "The moon is shining, let's go!" When there was no answer, Cal unzipped the flap of the tent and stuck his head in. The red vampyre was just reaching for his bow and arrows, and glowered at Cal.

"I'm coming," Stark growled at him. "I was already up." He had tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep without Zoey right next to him. It was an agonizing wait for the sun to go down.

Stark slung his arrows over his shoulder, and, holding on to his bow, shoved past Cal into the night air. He held his hands out. "What, no breakfast?" Stark asked, sarcastically.

Cal was finishing up getting his things together. "You've got the bow. Why don't you go find a deer to nibble on or do you prefer to drink from the vein?" Cal shot back, just as snarkily.

"Why, are you offering?" Stark asked him. "Though it's tempting to see you dead, blood from an asshole doesn't sound that appealing. So, I'll pass for now."

"Let's just get going, alright?" Cal said, when everything was packed. He shouldered his pack and looked at Stark.

"Fine by me," Stark replied gruffly. He turned and started walking through the woods. He called over his shoulder, "Keep up and stay out of my way!"

They trekked through the woods once again, staying mostly silent. They listened to their footsteps crunching on the leaves, and stayed alert to their surroundings. Stark knew he was going the right way; he could feel deep down in his soul. He was getting closer to Zoey. Cal's mind was elsewhere. He was thinking about Morgan and her possible reaction to seeing him again. He steeled himself for her overreacting in a bad way, but he couldn't help to wonder if she could be...happy to see him again.

Suddenly, there was a break in the trees a few yards away. Stark and Cal both stopped where they were, for different reasons. Stark turned in a slow circle, a distressed look on his face. "Something's happened," he announced, "I can barely feel her!"

Cal held up his hand, as if for silence. "Shhh," Cal said, taking a couple steps forward carefully. "There's magick around here." He continued past Stark, walking into the clearing. After a while, Cal spread his arms out wide in frustration. "This is impossible," he stated. "There's so much magick here, I can feel it, but yet...nothing." Cal turned on Stark. "Are you sure you know where you're going?"

Stark shot him a glare. "Of course I'm sure," Stark said, stepping into the clearing. "The bond's never steered me wrong before. It's just—I-something's happened to her. I know it."

"Must be hard," Cal replied, turning his back on Stark. "I would be sorry for you if I thought anything you've said was the truth. I'm starting to think you made all this warrior bond stuff up. And you're really just leading me into a trap."

That was it. Stark was tired of Cal and his comments. Slowly, Stark pulled out an arrow and knocked it to his bow. He didn't need any help, he could find Zoey by himself. Stark raised the bow. "Just one shot," he muttered to himself.

Cal was still chattering, his back turned, as Stark readied his aim. Then, suddenly, Cal's foot came down on a part of the ground that echoed an empty, hollow, clanging sound. Stark lowered his bow, his eyes narrowing in curiosity. Cal repeated his action in the same spot, each step getting louder and louder. He picked up his head and met Stark's gaze.

"There's something down there," Cal said what they were both thinking.

They both snapped into action. Cal sidestepped the area, and, together, they moved loose grass, dirt, and other foliage. Stark and Cal stepped back after they cleared everything, and had revealed something that wasn't part of nature.

A steel door.

* * *

><p><strong><span>AN:** Well, what do you think? Please review and tell me what you think. I love to hear from you all, and don't forget to check **The Equestrian Writer's** story (and review,too) :D


	7. Power Struggle

**Author's Note: **I'm sorry for the long wait. I hope I still have readers out there, and I'm really trying to not have these long waits between chapters; I'm trying to do better. Updates are supposed to be monthly, we'll see how that goes. Anyway, please enjoy :)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the House of Night series, or its' characters. They belong to PC and Kristin Cast. I also do not own the Sweep series, or its' characters. They belong to Cate Tiernan. All I have is this story/plot line.

* * *

><p><strong>~ Chapter Seven ~<strong>

_**The Warehouse**_

Damien scanned the room, his brown eyes studying every inch of space and person. Dallas and Nicole stalked around to each group, keeping a close eye on all of them. They weren't being that subtle; he was sure Dallas purposely walked into Rephaim a few minutes ago. The raven mockers were still, black, menacing shadows along the wall, as opposing as ever.

He moved his legs around so they wouldn't get cramped and leaned back against the wall. His eyes moved over to the doorway, where Kalona and Selene were standing, talking in fervent whispers. Since he and Hunter were sitting closer to the door than most of the others, he could understand mostly all of what they were saying.

"I did what I did to regain control of the situation," Kalona defended his actions from earlier. "You were losing them."

"I had them well in hand," Selene argued, crossing her arms over her chest. "You need to reign in your temper. Remember, Giomanach stays alive, no matter who else is sacrificed. It's part of the deal."

"As long as you remember," Kalona compromised, leaning his hand against the door frame. "The Red One and my son are off limits as well."

Selene leaned in closer, not taking lightly to his threats. "Careful, or someone might think you're going soft," she hissed at him.

"I'll show you how soft I am when I snap your son's neck," Kalona threatened.

Selene's eyes flashed red with anger. "Stay away from my son!" she seethed. Then, she pushed past him, stalking across the room.

Hunter had been listening, too, and now sat back, letting this news sink in. Damien leaned forward on his legs again, his hands sliding down his face and then clasping together in his lap. "We're not going to survive much longer if they both keep battling like this."

"No, we're not," Hunter reluctantly agreed, sighing. He lifted his right leg and hooked his hands behind his knee. "At least, you won't."

Damien cocked his head at Hunter, waiting for him to elaborate.

"Selene said Giomanach stays alive. That's my coven name," Hunter explained, looking at the floor.

Damien nodded absently. He was in full thinking mode now. "Why are you, Stevie Rae, and Rephaim being saved?" he questioned.

"I don't know," Hunter mumbled, pinching the concrete floor. Then, he picked his head up and looked Damien squarely in the eye. "But I won't allow myself to be saved while everyone else dies."

They bent their heads together, and began to hatch a plan.

**xXx**

"So, that's it, then? We're going to die," Erin whispered, shuddering closer to Robbie. They had also overheard Kalona and Selene's conversation, since they were sitting on the other side of the doorway. Robbie pulled his arm out of her grip and half-turned so that he was facing her directly.

"I promise you I'll get you out of here," Robbie told her. "I won't let you die in here."

Erin smiled gratefully at him and took his hand, squeezing it tightly. "And promise me that, when all this is over, you'll take me out on a date?" she asked him, leaning closer to him, so that it seemed like they were in their own private bubble.

Robbie gulped, wishing he didn't have to deal with right now, especially considering the situation they were in. But if they did make it out of here alive, Robbie couldn't lead her on anymore. "Listen, you're a sweet girl," Robbie started off and Erin's face started to fall. "But I'm in love with someone else." He glanced over to where Bree sat.

Slowly, Erin pulled her hand away from Robbie's and followed his gaze. "Her?" she asked, doubtfully. Erin scrutinized Bree through narrowed eyes. "She doesn't seem like your type." She turned back to Robbie. "Next time, you might want to clue a girl in that your off the market. Do I look like Aphrodite? Hell no." Erin slid away from Robbie, crossing her arms across her chest.

Robbie just sat there with his mouth slightly open, dumbfounded. He had been trying to let her down gently, but she made it seem like he had come on to her. Robbie glanced up at Bree again and saw that she was watching him. She gave him a smile and he returned it, wishing he could give her so much more.

**xXx**

Kalona and Selene had been talking furiously over by the door, neither one of them looked happy._ Maybe we'll be lucky and they'll kill each other,_ Aphrodite thought, smirking. Then, Selene walked across the room to address Dallas and Nicole, and Kalona left the room. Aphrodite pulled her legs up to her chest, stretching her arms out on top of her knees. She flexed her hands examining her nails, pretending she didn't give a damn. She looked through her lashes out at the rest of the room. Mostly all the hostages were in panic mode. Someone had to keep a level head, or they might as well crush all hope right now.

"Looks like it's going to have to be me," Aphrodite muttered, sighing.

Kalona came back into the room, pulling Sky by her hair. He yanked her back over to Aphrodite and shoved her to the floor. Sky caught herself on her hands and knees, looking up at Kalona with fear and hatred in her eyes.

Kalona opened his mouth and spoke to Aphrodite. "Try to keep her in line this time, darling," he advised.

"I'm not taking responsibility for anyone," Aphrodite replied smoothly, staring straight at Kalona.

"Just try, darling," Kalona cocked his head, smiling. Then, he walked away.

"Are you always this cool and detached?" Sky said, rhetorically. She sat back, pulling her legs out from under her. Her eyes were still adjusting from being in the dark, then being back in light again.

"This situation warrants it," Aphrodite replied back, watching Kalona sit down in his chair. "So,...where did they take you?"

"Uhhh," Sky started, looking at Aphrodite curiously, then forward again. "To this small, dark closet at the end of the hall. Why?"

"Were there any other doors?" Aphrodite asked, ignoring Sky's question.

"There was one right before the closet they put me in," Sky told her, sitting against the wall beside Aphrodite and stretching her legs out in front of her. "I think it led to another room."

"Were there any other doors leading outside, besides the one we came in through?" Aphrodite asked again.

"Yeah, there was one out the back, I believe," Sky answered. She turned her head to look at the other girl. "What are you doing?"

Aphrodite arched a perfect blond brow, like it was obvious. "We need to know the lay of the land if we're going to escape," she whispered.

**xXx**

Alisa started to stir, and Shaunee forced herself to focus on the helpless girl in front of her and not on the two quarreling leaders. The younger girl's eyes fluttered open seeming to register her surroundings for the first time since she'd been stabbed. She stared up at Shaunee in confusion, wondering why this strange girl was holding on to her. _It's okay,_ Shaunee mouthed. She wasn't sure how much Alisa could remember about what happened to her, but she didn't want the younger girl to be scared, just in case. It was in everyone's best interest if she stayed calm. Alisa's eyes widened as feeling returned to her. Then, all of a sudden, Alisa bolted upright, screaming out in pain.

"It's okay, Alisa, it's okay," Shaunee tried to calm the upset girl.

Darius leaned over and gently tried to push her back down by her shoulders. "Alisa, I know you're scared, but I need you to lie back down," he said, in a quiet but firm voice. "or you're going to make it worse."

"It hurts," Alisa whispered, letting Darius lay her back down. Tears leaked out the corner of her eyes and dropped down her face. "Make it stop, please, make it stop. It hurts."

"I will, I promise," Darius told her, brushing her black hair out of her face.

"Darius," Shaunee breathed.

At the sound of alarm in Shaunee's voice, Darius looked down at Alisa's stab wounds. They were bleeding faster than they were before. Acting fast, Darius placed pressure on Alisa's stomach and Shaunee, not needing to be told what to do, did the same to Alisa's lower back. Alisa grunted at the sudden intense pressure on her body.

Darius looked up at Selene, who had moved closer during Alisa's initial scream. "We need a first aid kit!" Darius said, his temper flaring.

"But you seem to have everything well in hand," Selene replied, her blank expression unchanging.

Darius bit back a sharp retort and instead said, "If we can't give her proper treatment, then she's going to bleed to death." He'd lowered his voice, so Alisa wouldn't hear him and get scared. "She needs that first aid kit."

"No."

At the same time, Kalona spoke up from his chair. "Nicole, go fetch the first aid kit from the office for the good doctor," he told the red fledgling. Selene snapped her head around to glare at Kalona. Kalona replied smoothly, "I'm curious to see how the doctor thinks he can save the young witch with a bunch of band-aids and aspirin."

Nicole left the room and returned a moment later carrying a red plastic first aid kit. The fledgling thrusted it toward Darius, but Selene snatched it before he could take it.

"Say thank you," Selene requested of him, holding the box at bay. "Because this will be the last generous act I give to anyone." She directed the last part to the whole room.

"Thank you," Darius muttered as Selene handed him the first aid kit. He placed the kit on the floor and opened it. Darius tried not to make too loud an objection, knowing it would be futile, when he saw the sparse supplies inside. Shaunee watched him carefully the whole time. Having to make do, Darius pulled out some gauze and medical tape.

"We're going to have to act fast," Darius instructed Shaunee. "When I says so, I need you remove my jacket from the wound. What she really needs is stitches, but I'll do my best with the gauze. Whatever you do, make sure you keep pressure to that other wound." Shaunee nodded as she understood.

When Darius said, Shaunee removed the coat and he secured the gauze tightly with the medical tape. Then, he added more gauze on top. Alisa grunted again as her stomach was pulled tight. Like a well-oiled machine, Shaunee and Darius did the same thing to the other wound. Afterwards, they were able to move Alisa to her back, so that she could be more comfortable.

"So, that's it, then?" Shaunee asked Darius, as he put everything back in the first aid kit. "She's going to be okay now?"

Darius sighed. "I wish I could say she will be," he said truthfully. "But I just don't know." He sat back and stared down at Alisa. Shaunee looked down at Alisa, who was staring up at her with pain and fear in her eyes.

**xXx**

Bree and Stevie Rae watched Shaunee and Darius attend to Alisa. It was sickening how Selene and Kalona were barely allowing Alisa to get proper care. Bree sighed, her head falling into her hands. She sighed again, and pushed her hand through her hair.

"This is my fault," Bree said, without taking her eyes off Alisa.

Stevie Rae opened her mouth to disagree, but Bree blundered on. "Alisa and Mary K shouldn't be here. Robbie and I should have went looking for Morgan by ourselves. I shouldn't have brought them along."

"You couldn't have known this was going to happen," Stevie Rae tried to tell her in a whispery tone, though she could feel Kalona's amber eyes on her.

"Still, I should have insisted they stay at the house," Bree whispered, leaning her chin in her palm and tracing figure eights on the floor.

They both jumped when Kalona joined their whispered conversation. "Don't be so hard on yourself, we all can't be telepathic," he reassured Bree, with a smile. Bree kept her eyes down on the floor. Kalona reached out to stroke Stevie Rae's blond curls, but Stevie Rae slapped his hand away. Kalona grabbed her hand just as fast, bringing it to his mouth and locking his eyes on hers. Rephaim jerked in his spot.

"I'd be careful of who you slap around," Kalona warned her, still smiling. "Not everybody is as tolerant as me." He kissed the back of Stevie Rae's hand and then allowed her to take her hand back.

Rephaim leaned over as far as he could, to whisper to Stevie Rae. "You alright?" he asked.

She nodded, a grateful smile on her lips. Rephaim reached his hand out to her, and she took it in hers, squeezing his hand. "I lo-" he started to say, before Kalona pushed their hands apart with his foot.

"Shush." Kalona ordered. "That's enough of that."

Stevie Rae smiled at Rephaim, then her attention was pulled back to Alisa. The smell of the blood was just too strong. Bree moved closer to her and leaned in to whisper, almost inaudibly.

"Good job," Bree praised, and Stevie Rae was confused for a second. Then, Bree finished, "Though, next time, aim for his face."

**xXx **

"I hope it's quick," Mary K murmured, mostly to herself. She sat on the other side of Kalona, her legs pulled up to her chest. Her eyes never left Alisa, or what she could see of her.

"What?" Jack looked at her quickly, from his place next to her.

"When they kill me," Mary K elaborated in a whisper. She rested her chin on her knees. "Whey they do it, I hope they do it quickly and don't drag it out like they're doing to Alisa."

"Hey, don't talk like that," Jack said to her, touching her arm gently.

"Well, it's true, isn't it," Mary K replied, looking at him. "I already have six demerits, four more and I'm dead." Her voice wavered at the end, but no tears came this time. It seemed like she was all out of them.

"Shh," Kalona shushed them, his amber eyes staring forward.

Mary K flinched and they both lapsed into silence. She drew lazy circles on her ankle with her finger. Jack shifted beside her until he was facing her directly. Mary K didn't look at him, she just kept looking down at her shoes.

"You're not going to die, alright?" Jack whispered. When she stayed quiet, he continued, "We're going to find a way to get out of here. You'll get to see you mom and dad again. No one's gonna die."

Mary K looked up at him then. She saw her own fear reflected back at her in Jack's blue eyes. "How can you be so sure when you're just as scared as I am?" she asked him, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I have to believe we'll make it out of here," Jack said, sincerely. "Because if I sit here drowning in my fear, I will die, but if I stay calm, I may be able to save myself and others."

Mary K stared at him, admiring his bravery.

"That is very honorable, young fledgling," Kalona said, inserting himself into the conversation. Jack looked up at Kalona and Mary K looked back down at the floor. Kalona spoke the next part louder, so that everybody in the room could hear him. "But didn't you mama teach you never to lie to a lady. There is no hope, you all _will _die."

"Finally, something we both can agree on," Selene added, with a smile.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_**Stark and Cal**_

Stark paced back and forth, shifting his bow from one hand to the other. Cal had explained that there were sigils drawn on the steel door, locking it. So, Stark waited impatiently as Cal used his witchy powers to unlock the door.

"Can you at least stand still?" Cal said, with an edge to his voice. "You're distracting me."

"Can you hurry up?" Stark shot at him, but stopped pacing anyway. "Every second we waste up here, is a second Zoey doesn't have. I have to get in there."

Cal sighed and went back to dismantling the sigils. There were a lot of them, and it took most of Cal's energy to concentrate and not make any mistakes. He moved his athame swiftly and surely, breaking apart each sigil until they no longer glowed an iridescent blue. When Cal finally finished the last one, he rolled his head, stretching out his neck.

"Done," Cal announced. He gave the handle a tug, and the steel door lifted open.

They studied the deep dark hole. Stark dropped to his knees, right away feeling around the edges of the door frame. He found the top rung of a metal ladder. He smiled triumphantly. "There's a ladder here," he said out loud to Cal. Without any further words, Stark took hold of the ladder and swung himself around, his feet finding the rungs of the ladder in the dark.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Cal stopped him, before he was halfway through. "You're just going to jump in with both feet, without really knowing what's down there?"

"Zoey's down there," Stark stated, with certainty. "I'm going to get here."

Cal sighed as Stark continued down the ladder, and climbed down after him. The hole was deeper than either of them originally thought and soon Cal couldn't see the opening anymore. They were both shrouded in total darkness.

"Ouch, that's my hand," Stark hissed through the darkness. "Don't be that close."

"Sorry," Cal muttered, stepping back up to a different rung. He waited until he was sure Stark was farther down and then he continued downward. They climbed a little longer and then Cal heard Stark land softly on the ground below. Cal landed beside him.

They stood in what appeared to be a very long hallway, with a faint flickering glow down at the end. Cal took a deep breath. "Well, this is it," he said, glancing at Stark from the corner of his eye. "There's no going back now."

"Yep," Stark replied. Breathing deep, he took out an arrow and hitched it to his bow, preparing for anything. "Let's go."

Cal followed behind Stark, keeping his footsteps light. With his magesight, he could see everything, including Stark, stalking through the dark hallway with his bow and arrow like an ancestral predator. The hall ended in a large, empty room, with a long mahogany table in the center. A lit candelabra sat flickering on the table. At the sight, Cal got a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"You may not like this, but," Cal broke the silence as Stark started searching the room. "This is either a trap or they're long gone."

Stark stopped and stared at him. "Zoey is here, I can feel it. She's still here," he told him. Stark looked around just then, an anxious look on his face. "Something's wrong though, I have to find her."

"Then we're about to walk into a trap," Cal stated, as Stark started pacing the room again. "Think about it. They wouldn't leave the girls alone, unprotected." Just as he said that, both Cal and Stark heard a noise come from the opposite hallway. It was two loud croaking sounds.

They looked at each other with the same expression on their faces. "Looks like they're not alone," Stark said. They crept toward the hallway, slowly. This hallway was shorter than the other one, and, soon, it split off into two hallways; one leading left and one leading right. These hallways were relatively well-lit with torches on the wall in even intervals. There were also footsteps down both halls. They heard the croaking sound again, and they knew they were raven mockers.

Cal leaned forward, peering down the right hallway at one raven mocker, who currently had its' back to them. "This just got harder," Cal replied. "How are-"

Before Cal could finish, an arrow flew by his face into the raven mocker's heart through the back. The raven mocker crumpled to the floor. Cal's eyebrows rose in surprise as he turned to look at Stark. "Nice shot," Cal observed, a bit impressed.

"Thanks," Stark nodded. He pulled out another arrow and took out the other raven mocker before it saw what had happened to the first one. They listened for anymore footsteps, but there weren't anymore.

"Ok," Cal began, his hands on his hips. "The girls have to be down on of these hallways, either together or separate. We need to be careful, just in case my mother and whatever minion she has this time is down there, too."

"Alright, you go that way and I'll go this way." Stark pointed Cal to the right hallway and himself to the left.

Stark barely waited for Cal to agree and took off down the left corridor. His feet pounded down the hall, not caring for discretion. Zoey had to be unconscious and that is why he couldn't feel her. He didn't let that panic him, especially when he didn't pass any doors on either his left or right. He was beginning to think that this hallway was just a dead end and he should turn around. Then, a door rose up in front of him at the end of the hall.

"Zoey!" Stark couldn't help the exclamation that vaulted from his mouth. He hit the steel door at full force, realizing a second too late that he had to turn the handle to open it, instead of just barging through it like in the movies. He opened the door and rushed inside.

The light from the hallway torches filtered into the pitch dark room. Stark could see in the dark, so he saw the figure slumped in the chair in the center of the room. "Zoey, I'm here. I'm here," he told her, reassuringly. "I'm going to get you out."

He stepped closer, and the girl stirred, like she was finally coming to. It was then that Stark saw the girl's light brown hair and fair skin. "You're not Zoey," Stark said aloud, his heart deflating.

The girl stirred again, lifting her head a few inches. This had to be the girl Cal was searching for. He dug around in the recesses of his mind for a name. "Morgan?" Stark said, gently, not wanting to startle her.

"Huh?" Morgan mumbled, lifting her head more. She tried to focus her hazel eyes on the stranger in front of her. "Who-" She struggled to ask the question, her full strength has yet to return to her.

"I'm going to get you out of here," Stark reassured her. His eyes wandered down and saw that the evil, tangible tendrils of Darkness had her trapped to the chair. He knelt down slowly, balancing on the balls of his feet. The tendrils were wrapped around her torso and around her calves. Stark followed the tendrils with his eyes all the way to the top right corner of the back of the room, where a bigger billowing mass of Darkness settled. This just got harder.

"Question is: how am I going to get you out?" Stark muttered to himself. He didn't have power over the elements like Zoey did. All he had was his gift of never missing his mark...and his eyes traveled back to the mass of Darkness. Maybe...

Stark wrapped his hand around the smooth wood of his bow. He stood back up and pulled out another arrow. The darkness acted like a living thing. It was powerful, but if he could shoot it, maybe it would recoil only long enough for him to get Morgan out. He planted his feet and aimed his bow, thinking of the spot of darkness that would release its' victims. He released the arrow and it flew through the center of the dark mass.

The darkness reared back, as if injured, its' tendrils unfurling from around Morgan. She slumped forward and would have fallen to the floor had Stark not caught her in his arms. He slipped his arm around her waist to help her up, putting her arm around his shoulders. "C'mon, your boyfriend is waiting for you," Stark encouraged.

"Hunter," Morgan mumbled, too low for Stark to hear.

They got to the door and went through it, closing the door against the darkness. It couldn't stop it, but it was better to think that it could.

"I'm okay, I can walk on my own," Morgan told him, feeling more stronger. She moved out of his grasp. "Who are you? Why did you save me?"

"Because your boyfriend is looking for you and I would hope he'd do the same if he found my girlfriend," Stark replied. "Look, anymore questions can wait. We need to keep moving." He nudged her forward, and they started jogging back down the hall.

"You said my boyfriend, is Hunter..." Morgan started to ask him, before trailing off.

There were two figures running down the opposite hall in front of them. Morgan's eyes widened and her pace slowed. "Cal?..." she whispered, shocked. She stared at Cal disbelievingly as he descended upon them.

Before Stark could respond to her surprise, a shout came from the other figure. "Stark!" That beautiful, melodious voice resonated deep down in his soul.

"Zoey," Stark breathed, increasing his stride. He opened his arms and she fell into them, embracing him tightly. They held on to each other, as if the other would disappear. "You don't know how glad I am to see you."

"I love you," Zoey said, into his shoulder. "I knew you'd come."

"Always. I love you, too," Stark whispered back, lifting her off the floor a little bit. "Always."

* * *

><p><strong>How was it? Please tell me what you think. Please review :)<strong>


	8. Another Victim Falls

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the House of Night series, or its' characters. They belong to PC and Kristin Cast. I also do not own the Sweep series, or its' characters. They belong to Cate Tiernan. All I have is this story/plot line.

* * *

><p><strong>~ Chapter Eight ~<strong>

Zoey, Morgan, Cal, and Stark made it up out of the underground bunker at a fast pace, arriving back in the night air. Cal urged the girls to keep running for the woods as Stark sealed the door behind them and continued running. They made it into the trees with silence still behind them, but they still ran. When they had run deep enough into the forest, they stopped for a quick rest and to regroup.

Stark still couldn't believe they got the girls out of there without incident. He ran his hands over Zoey's dark hair and around her neck, cupping her head between his hands. "I still can't believe you're here and safe," he whispered, smiling.

Zoey smiled back, closing her hands around his wrists. Her eyes wandered around the area. "Where's Stevie Rae and the others?" Zoey asked, then her eyes widened. "Are they alright? Are they hurt?"

"No, no, no, nothing like that," Stark explained, shushing her. "They went looking for the warehouse, Stevie Rae's idea. She thought they might have taken you there." He pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear, and his hands slowly fell to his sides.

"Should we head back there, too?" Zoey questioned, turning to Morgan and Cal for affirmation, too. They were all in this together now; they should finish it together.

Morgan, who had been watching the couple enviously, said, "That sounds like a good idea, and that's where Hunter said he was going. I have a bad feeling something happened. But first," Morgan turned abruptly around to face Cal. Cal's heart nearly skipped a beat, this was the first time she had looked at him directly since they left the bunker. "What are you doing here!?"

"He was helping me find the two of you," Stark supplied, coming forward, feeling the need to defend Cal.

"No, I mean, the last time I saw him, he was dead," Morgan explained, looking at Zoey and Stark, who narrowed his eyes. She turned back to Cal. "So, how are you here?"

Cal took a deep breath and decided to just say it. "Kalona brought my mother and I back to life," He held his breath, waiting for everybody's reaction.

"What?!" Stark was suddenly in front of Morgan, his bow and arrow aimed at Cal. "So, you're working for them?"

"No!" Cal said quietly. "No, I'm not. I don't want anything to do with my mother." He walked to a nearby tree and placed a hand on the trunk. "I told her I was leaving. I was planning on leaving town, but I just had to see you again." Cal stared at Morgan, hoping she would believe him.

"Stay behind me," Stark told the girls, his arrow still trained on Cal's heart. He directed his next question at Cal. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you right now? Why should we believe you?"

"Because he died for me," Morgan spoke up from behind Stark. She didn't know why she said it, the words just came out of her mouth before she could stop them.

There was a tense silence as Cal and Morgan locked eyes for a minute, then Morgan hastily looked away. Zoey glanced between them, and then cleared her throat. She stepped around Stark, though he tried to stop her. She placed her hand on his arm, lowering the bow.

"Ok, I don't know much of what is going on here," Zoey began, looking at Cal, Morgan, and Stark. She spoke to Stark. "but he came all this way with you to save us. He helped me get out of that room; he could have left me there. And, it's obvious that he's in love with her."

Stark held her gaze, and then flicked his eyes toward Cal. "He could have killed me when I was sleeping, but he didn't," Stark muttered but Zoey still heard him.

Meanwhile, Morgan moved around both of them and walked slowly toward Cal. He followed her with his eyes, his emotion splayed all over his face. She stopped when she was just a few steps away from him. "Is it true?" Morgan whispered.

Cal nodded. "Yes," he said, in a whisper.

Morgan didn't know what to say. There was a time when she did love Cal, but that was before he betrayed her. And now, Morgan has found her _murin beatha dan_, her soul mate, in Hunter. She didn't know if she could believe what Cal was confessing. Cal had told her he loved her numerous times before and it turned out to be a lie. But now, there was something in his eyes that told her he wasn't lying this time.

"You don't have to say anything," Cal said quietly. He brushed past her and cleared his throat. "Should we head back to Widow's Vale then?"

Zoey looked from Morgan to Cal and back again. She felt compelled to say some words of comfort to the other girl, but she also felt that it would be awkward, given that they didn't really know each other. Morgan nodded absently, in reference to Cal's question.

"Alright, then," Zoey replied, with nothing else to really say.

Stark walked over to Cal. "If you are lying, I will put this arrow through your heart. For real this time," he whispered to Cal, so that Morgan and Zoey couldn't hear him.

"If I'm lying, I'll let you do it," Cal countered, with a glare of his own. They stared at each other for a minute, before Morgan interrupted.

"Do you hear that?" Morgan asked, frozen in a listening stance. They all stopped to listen, the sounds of the forest at night echoing around them. Then, came the distinct sound of pursing footsteps, getting louder and closer with every thud.

"They've figured out that we're missing," Zoey stated, her voice low and with a slight tinge of panic.

"We need to move! Now!" Stark grabbed Zoey's hand and pulled her into a run. Cal allowed Morgan in front of him, and they, too, started to run.

Deeper into the forest they ran, with the sound of pursuit directly behind them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_**The Warehouse**_

Dallas walked into Rephaim for about the fifth time in a row, the last one was more of a shove than an accident. Rephaim just sat there, ignoring him and trying not to let it get to him. It wasn't working. Every time Dallas pushed him, he would grit his teeth in a glare. Dallas turned around again and made his way back to Rephaim.

"Dallas, stop it, alright," Stevie Rae couldn't help but blurt out, even though it caused both Selene and Kalona to look at her. Dallas, however, just feigned an innocent, who-me expression at her, and continued walking. "Knock it off. Please," she heard herself pleading.

"Stevie Rae, I'm fine," Rephaim whispered to her, so that she wouldn't cause a scene. She just gave him a look, telling him it wasn't okay. Dallas was back near Rephaim again, and, this time, he launched a kick straight into Rephaim's side. Rephaim fell forward to the floor with an inaudible grunt. There was a collective gasp around the room.

"Dallas!" Stevie Rae exclaimed, but her voice was overpowered by Kalona's order:

"Dallas, other side of the room. Now. If you feel the need to kick something else, feel free to use our head witch as your target." Kalona stared long and hard at Hunter.

Dallas reluctantly moved on, for which Stevie Rae was relieved. It was then that she felt Bree's hand on her arm from when she stopped her from lunging for Rephaim after Dallas kicked him. Bree took her hand off Stevie Rae after she nodded, assuring Bree that she wasn't going to lunge after Dallas.

"What is his problem, anyway?" Bree wondered, whispering. She looked over at Dallas, who, even thought he was across the room, still glared at Rephaim.

"It's my fault," Stevie Rae looked away from both Dallas and Rephaim. Bree looked at her. "Dallas and I used to date. Then, I met Rephaim, and..."

"And it's the classic old boyfriend vs. the new boyfriend," Bree finished for her, half-smiling to cheer her up as much as this situation warrants. Stevie Rae half-smiled back, showing her that she appreciated the gesture. Bree glanced around the room, then leaned into her. "Did you come up-"

Stevie Rae put her finger to her lips, pointing her eyes toward Kalona. Bree nodded in understanding. A minute later, Kalona stirred in his chair and stood up. "Be good, friends. I'm going to check on the rest of the hostages," he told the five hostages around him.

Both girls watched Kalona walk away, and then bent their heads together. "Ok, I'm not that good in hand to hand combat and my magick is being blocked..." Stevie Rae was saying.

"And I'm not that strong a witch, so...we need a weapon," Bree added. She casually searched the room with her eyes.

Stevie Rae searched as well. "But where are..." She trailed off as her eyes landed on Darius and the first aid kit beside him. Stevie Rae tapped the floor lightly to get his attention, which also got Bree's and Rephaim's attentions, too. Darius looked at her, and she mouthed the word 'knife' with a nod toward the first aid kit. He hesitated, touching the first aid kit questioningly, and then understood. Unfortunately, Darius gave a short shake of his head, telling her that there was no knife inside the box.

"Damn," Stevie Rae whispered, disappointed.

"Stevie Rae," Bree replied, with an edge to her voice.

Stevie Rae turned her head to look at her, and Bree motioned to the floor behind her, almost under Kalona's chair. The metal pipe used to stab Alisa was lying just within reach. Bree and Stevie Rae shared a look.

Bree grabbed the pipe and gripped it close to her body, keeping it out of sight from Kalona and Selene.

**xXx**

Sky's eyes darted around the room, never staying on one thing for too long. She stared at Hunter, Alisa, Stevie Rae and Bree, and then, the red fledglings scattered around the room. An idea was sparking inside her head, but she wasn't sure if she was willing to go through with it. Someone had to sacrifice themselves for the safety of the group. Sky turned to Aphrodite.

"You said before that all this blood had to be bothering them," Sky whispered. She gestured toward the red fledglings, not caring if anyone saw her. She was done hiding, from now on all the fighting had to be done upfront.

"Yeah, and?" Aphrodite asked, keeping her voice low, too. She glanced quickly at Sky.

"Well, I was thinking that a little more blood could set them over the edge," Sky looked at Aphrodite to see if she understood. She did. "We could use that as a diversion, and then-" Sky broke off when she felt a heavy gaze on her. Kalona stood across the room, staring at the two of them. He smiled a devilish grin when the girls met his gaze and started to walk over to them.

Aphrodite had to think fast in the seconds it took for Kalona to cross the room. She came up with some semblance of a plan. It wasn't that much of one, but it was something. "Follow my lead," she whispered hastily to Sky. Sky whipped her head around to Aphrodite, but Kalona was in front of them before she could get more information.

Kalona knelt down in front of them and addressed Sky. "Since that stunt you pulled with the knife, I'm very suspicious of you. What were you talking about with our dear prophetess here? Hmm." He raised his eyebrows.

Sky kept her gaze level with his. "Why would I tell you?" she dared to question.

Kalona was unfazed by her answer. "Well, if you don't, I'll kill your cousin over there," he said, with a light shrug of his shoulder. Sky's eyes flickered over to Hunter. "Well, what do you say?" Kalona asked.

"I say we're _dehydrated_ and we're not thinking clearly," Aphrodite butted in.

Kalona turned his head to her, his eyes narrowed. "Oh, really?"

"Yeah," Aphrodite continued, in her regular bitchy tone of voice. Sky smirked to herself, understanding where Aphrodite was going with this already. The other hostages looked on in confusion. "I mean, I'm just so _thirsty_, my throat is _dry_. I could _drain_ a whole gallon of water."

Sky glanced around subtly, seeing a couple red fledglings fidgeting. It was working. Her smile faded, however, when Selene interjected, "Refreshments are off-limits."

Kalona chuckled and straightened up. "Relax," He spoke to Selene, but his eyes never left Sky and Aphrodite. "They are only trying to create a diversion by using our _friends'_ weakness against us. I must admit sending a bunch of immature red fledglings on a blood rampage is a good way to do it." Kalona leaned down closer to Aphrodite, and continued in a whisper. "No worries, my dear, every fledgling knows that if they shall step out of line, their fate will be worse that yours."

**xXx **

"I've been thinking," Hunter whispered to Damien, after he pulled his gaze away from Sky. "We've been sitting here for awhile now, and we still don't know why. But what if they don't want anything, they're just keeping us away from what's really happening." Hunter looked at Damien to see what he thought.

"I bet Neferet is in charge of all this," Damien said, his chin in his hand. "She had Ciaran kidnap Zoey, probably Morgan, too. And Kalona and Selene are to keep us away. Whatever they plan to do with Zoey and Morgan, they don't want us stopping it."

Hunter paled at the thought of something happening to Morgan. He shook his head to get rid of those thoughts. He had to stay focused on getting out of here and saving Morgan. "So, these two really don't want to be here," Hunter replied, watching Kalona stalk from group to group, while Selene glared at him the whole time. "Which is why they're always at each others throats."

They both lapsed into silence after that. Hunter's mind was going a mile a minute, searching for answers, and he could tell Damien was puzzling over everything, too. He knew one thing for certain; they were all going to die here, except three. Himself, Stevie Rae, and Rephaim. Hunter wasn't sure why though, until he did. His eyes widened at the realization that Morgan would willingly turn herself over to her father if it meant keeping Hunter safe. The same must be true about Zoey. Hunter wouldn't let that happen.

"What are you thinking?" Damien whispered to Hunter, seeing that he had become lost in thought.

"They need Stevie Rae, Rephaim, and I alive for leverage over Zoey and Morgan," Hunter told him. "So that they'll cooperate with whatever they plan to do."

"Makes sense," Damien nodded. Then, he tapped a finger against his chin. "They have to meet up at some point and when they do, Kalona and Selene with bring you there with them, probably leaving the rest of us for dead."

"If you ask me, they should just kill them both right now," Dallas muttered, speaking of Stevie Rae and Rephaim. He stood behind Hunter, with his hands behind his back.

Hunter gave Dallas a look. "Strangely enough, we didn't ask you," Hunter retorted. He was tired of Dallas' attitude, and he'd already hated him for what he did to Sky.

"Don't antagonize him," Damien whispered just as Dallas swung down in front of Hunter. His eyes were narrowed and his lips were curved into a sneer.

"You're awfully smart for someone who is about to die," Dallas said. He raised his left hand, sparks crackling off his fingertips.

"Careful, your boss is watching," Hunter replied, seeing Kalona sitting back in his chair, eyes intent on them. Hunter tried to stay calm as he glanced once at Dallas' sparking fingers, but his heart was racing. All he could think was he had to stay alive for Morgan.

"Oh, I think he would approve," Dallas grinned and reached toward Hunter.

"Dallas!" Selene scolded, yanking the vampyre up by his collar. She pushed him toward the doorway. "Take a walk. I'm tired of hearing your mouth." When Dallas didn't move, Selene said in a much louder and harsher tone. "Go!" This time, Dallas did leave, but not before looking over his shoulder and giving Rephaim one last glare.

Hunter and Damien shared a relieved look. Suddenly, a shrill sound cut through the room, rendering everybody completely silent. Everybody glanced over at Selene as she pulled a ringing cell phone out.

She answered the phone with a hasty, "What?"

The voice on the other end was smooth and clipped. "The plan has been rewired," Neferet replied, "Keep them there until further notice."

"What do you mean? What happened?" Selene questioned, lowering her voice and turning her back on the rest of the room.

"Nothing I don't have control over," Neferet retorted. "It appears that the two of you failed to secure _everyone_ in that warehouse. That insufferable warrior and that son of yours got past the guard and escaped with the girls." Her tone grew in anger with each word.

"Hmm, it seems to me it's you who has lost control," Selene mused.

"I do have control!" Neferet nearly shouted. "Just do as I say."

"Just as long as you understand my son is not to be harmed," Selene threatened. "Or the deal is off."

"I will do whatever I have to do," Neferet warned, straightforwardly. "And that means _anyone_, including your precious son, is expendable." The call ended with a click.

Selene's hand curled around the phone, gripping it so hard her hand shook. She didn't turn around to face everybody for a long moment. Kalona sat up straighter in his chair, sensing something was amiss. "What happened?" he asked.

At the sound of his voice, Selene spun around. She kept her gaze level with his as she raised her gun and then she pulled the trigger. The gunshot reverberated throughout the room along with Stevie Rae's scream.

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><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>I know that is a terrible cliffhanger to leave you all with, but if you want to know what happens next, you have to review. Muhahaha! :)


	9. Tech Support

**A/N: **I'm sorry to keep everybody waiting, especially with a cliffhanger like that, but I was finishing up my other stories first. Now, I'm ready to get back into this story and updates will be coming weekly. Enjoy the chapter!

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><p><span><strong>Chapter Nine<strong>

**Tech Support**

_**The Warehouse**_

The world seemed to slow down as Rephaim watched Stevie Rae fall backward in a spray of her own blood. Bree caught her before she could crack her head on the wooden floor, and laid her down gently. Rephaim couldn't hold back any longer, he lunged toward Stevie Rae at the same time he saw Darius move out of the corner of his eye. He took Bree's place by Stevie Rae's head, smoothing her hair back away from her face. Her eyes were glassy as she stared up at the ceiling, but she recognized him when he leaned over her. She opened her mouth to say something, but Rephaim shook his head.

"No, don't speak," he told her, picking up her bloodied hand and squeezing it. "Save your strength."

"That's right," Selene commanded the room. "Don't speak. Don't move."

Suddenly, Rephaim couldn't move, his body was frozen in an invisible cage. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Bree was frozen as well, her hands still over the wound in Stevie Rae's side. Rephaim guessed that Selene had put a spell over the whole room. He cursed to himself, each second they wasted was a second Stevie Rae didn't have. She could be slipping away right now. No, he wouldn't think like that, he had to be strong for her.

"I did not give anybody permission to move," Selene explained, her temper reeling. "There are plenty more bullets where that one came from. You do not want to tempt me."

"Like you've tempted me, darling?" came Kalona's voice. "We need to talk."

"Then, talk," Selene snapped at him.

"Eh, eh, there are some things that should not be discussed in front of our hostages," Kalona tisked as he stomped over to the doorway. "In the office. Now." He didn't wait for her to respond, he just swept out of the room, seething. Selene sighed loudly and reluctantly followed Kalona. At the last second, she flourished her hand and everybody was released from the spell. She stopped to whisper something to somebody in the dark hallway. After a second, Dallas came into the room with a sly grin on his face.

"Well, well, well, looks like I'm in charge now, boys and girls," Dallas announced, walking to the center of the room. He ran his gaze over each hostage. "Everybody back to your corners, now!" His eyes landed on Stevie Rae, and his face flickered with an unspoken emotion for a second.

Unbound from the spell, Darius had made his way over to help Stevie Rae. Rephaim still held her in his lap, and Bree sat helpless off to the side. Stevie Rae let out another cry of pain as Darius touched her wound.

"What can I do?" Bree asked, wringing her hands. Stevie Rae's blood was already starting to dry on her hands and she tried her best not to look at them.

"There's nothing really even I can do," Darius regretfully explained. "The only thing we can do is try and stop the bleeding."

"We need towels then, right?" Rephaim stammered, tripping over his words. He was so worried for Stevie Rae, he almost couldn't see straight. He pushed a blond curl off her cheek and tried to give her a reassuring smile. It came out faltering. Stevie Rae reached up slowly with a shaking hand and grasped his hand.

Knowing there was little chance of finding towels in this place, as if the powers that be would allow them to go look, Bree unzipped her soft pink sweatshirt, slipping it off her shoulders. "Will this help?" Bree asked, handing the sweatshirt to Darius. "I have no fond attachments to it." She tried for a laugh, but it only came out as a gasping intake of breath.

Darius smiled gratefully at her as he took the sweatshirt. He pressed the article to Stevie Rae's gunshot wound, pressing hard to stem the blood flow, a temporary solution. A small whimper escaped Stevie Rae's lips and her body tensed away from the pressure. Rephaim gripped her tighter.

"You're hurting her," he told Darius.

Darius gave him a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry, Rephaim," he apologized. "But we have to stop the bleeding, and without any drugs, it's not going to be pain free."

Rephaim touched his head to Stevie Rae's, whispering apologies.

At that moment, Dallas broke out of his reverie and stalked over to them. "Ok, doc, your time is up," he said, dragging Darius away from Stevie Rae. He barely had enough time to protest that they need to keep pressure on the wound. Bree fumbled to take over what Darius had been doing. Dallas pushed Darius away, from both Stevie Rae and Alisa.

_Hunter, what are we going to do?_ Sky thought to her cousin as she sat rigidly against the wall, her arms crossed. Hunter tore his gaze away from the wounded Stevie Rae and looked at her, shaking his head a little. He didn't say anything back to her, but he didn't have to. She already knew what he was feeling, because she was feeling the same way. Hopelessness. Sky let out a slow breath.

"This is getting out-of-control," she muttered out loud. "We're all just sitting ducks."

Aphrodite stared levelly at Dallas. "Selene and Kalona are out of the room," she stated. "I think it's time we did something effective."

Sky's head whipped around to face her. "What?"

Aphrodite was already standing up, heading for Dallas. "Hey, Electra-boy!" she called. The raven mockers and red fledglings grew to attention, taking a few steps toward the prophetess. Dallas only turned around slowly with an amused look on his face. The other hostages looked on in fear and curiosity.

"Aphrodite, sit down," Darius told her, quietly.

"You want a more up close view of myself," Dallas grinned, disgustingly. He quickly wrapped his hands around her neck, nearly picking her up off the floor. "Sorry, babe, I'm not in the mood right now. So I think it's time for you to go back-"

"THAT WAS NOT YOUR CALL TO MAKE!"

The booming voice echoed through the hallway and reached the hostages in their room. Everybody jumped, startled, and stared toward the doorway. The atmosphere was no different inside the office-like room. Selene paced in front of the large boarded up windows, while Kalona stood on the other side of the large, oak desk, his wrath coming off him in waves.

"I don't know why you are so angry," Selene shrugged her shoulders, speaking just as loudly. "They're all just hostages."

"I warned you that that girl and my son were off limits!" Kalona shouted.

"Sentimentality has made you lose focus," Selene pointed out, crossing her arms. She stepped closer to the winged immortal. "The point of a hostage is to die for our cause, anything more is just a waste of time. Now, I suggest you get your emotions in check, and remember what it is we're here to do."

Kalona glared at her, taking a step forward. "You stand here playing the part of the emotionless leader," he accused, "but _you_ were the one who melted with sentimentality at the mere mention of _your son_ in danger."

Selene pursed her lips together and turned her back on him. She admitted to herself that she had let down her guard and let her emotions rule her head. That couldn't happen again, she had to stay cool and detached. It was the only way that would insure that both her and her son would get out of this alive. But first, Selene had to make sure that she found Cal before Neferet did.

Kalona stood with his hands on his hips, his anger cooling. He became rational and detached again. "Ok, so, Zoey and Morgan have escaped," Kalona talked it out. "The first thing they're going to do is come looking for these guys," He nodded his head toward the other room. "Of course, Neferet probably already knows that..."

Composed, Selene turned back around to face Kalona and approached the desk. "We'll be waiting for for them when they do arrive." She tapped her fingernails on the top of the black laptop sitting on the desk. "We'll need a little assistance from the technical one. Would you please go fetch him for me?" She smiled sweetly at him.

Kalona glared at her, but didn't answer. He walked the few steps over to one wall, opening up a cabinet that hung there. He took something out and spun back around on his heel. "I will _fetch _the young man," Kalona acquiesced. "But if you order me around one more time, _I _will kill your son." Having said the last word, he strode out of the office without a backward glance.

Kalona strode back into the hostage room, into the scene unfolding with Dallas and Aphrodite. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" he said, rhetorically. "Was it bad behavior or did you just get bored and decided on some torture?" Neither one of them answered, and Kalona pulled Aphrodite out of Dallas' grip. "You are becoming a nuisance, darling. I'm running out of tolerance for you." He pulled her back over to her spot next to Sky and pushed her down. "Now, sit down, or I'll hand you over to my trigger-happy other half."

He walked away without another word. Next, Kalona approached Bree, Stevie Rae, and Rephaim. The group was a little bit more calmer, not by much. Bree kept pressure on the wound, and grew tense at Kalona's nearness. He dropped the bandages and gauze in Bree's lap. She jumped, startled. Rephaim glanced up at his father, surprised. Stevie Rae just stared at the ceiling, glassy-eyed, trying to take even breaths.

"Here, fix her up," Kalona explained. Then, he took Rephaim's arm and dragged him away from Stevie Rae back to his old spot. Kalona whispered only to him. "Don't fight me." Rephaim looked at him, confused.

Kalona acted like he didn't say anything. He just took one step over, to stand in front of Mary K and Jack. Mary K cowered more into herself, avoiding Kalona's eyes. Jack reluctantly met Kalona's gaze, trying for bravery.

"It appears that your services are needed," Kalona stated.

"What?-" Jack started to ask. Kalona interrupted him when he pulled him up by his arm. Mary K cried out and tried to grab Jack to protect him but she shrank back at Kalona's stare. Jack gave her an apologetic look for having to leave her alone, and relinquished to Kalona's pull.

"If any of them causes any trouble while I'm gone, kill them," Kalona instructed the raven mockers and red fledglings. "We don't need _all_ of them alive." He left the room with Jack in tow.

Damien watched Jack leave the room, worriedly. Hunter, however, watched them with curiosity. "Something's happened," Hunter whispered, still at the doorway. "Their plan is starting to unravel and they're trying to cover their tracks." He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and turned his head slightly to look. Darius was just taking the rest of the bandages and gauze from Bree, he glanced up briefly at a nearby red fledgling. When they didn't move, Darius carried the supplies over to Shaunee for Alisa's wound. Then, he moved back to where he had been, by himself.

Damien rubbed his hands down his face, blowing air out of his cheeks, trying to calm himself. "Kalona said that they needed Jack's expertise," he whispered back to Hunter. "Jack has an affinity for technology. He's a genius about it. What could they want him for?" He sat with his chin on his hand, puzzling over the situation.

"I think Selene received a phone call about Morgan and Zoey escaping," Hunter replied. His arm dropped onto his raised knee. As happy as he was to know that Morgan had escaped, he was still afraid for her because she was still in danger. "Maybe they need Jack to track them down. This could all be coming to an end very soon, whether we're alive then or not."

"What do we do?" Damien asked, glancing over at Hunter.

Hunter looked Damien straight in the eye. "We get ready," he said.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_**Zoey, Stark, Morgan, and Cal**_

After what seemed like an hour, they slowed from a run to a walk. The forest had thinned out around them and they could make out the shape of buildings in the distance. Morgan leaned her hand against a tree to catch her breath as she strained to pick up sounds of their pursuers. As far as she could tell, they'd lost whoever had been chasing them. She looked around at the others; Stark was stalking the edge of their little clearing with his bow and arrow, it was as if he was expecting an ambush, and Zoey stood looking flushed and just as out of breath as she was. Cal was a few feet away from her, shuffling through his backpack. After about a minute, Cal straightened up with three water bottles in his hand. He approached Morgan tentatively and held out one of the water bottles to her.

Morgan took the water bottle, giving him a small smile of gratitude. Cal, then, offered a water bottle to Zoey, who took it with a _thank you_ of her own. They replenished their thirst from their run and regrouped. Stark came back toward them after scanning the periphery. He took the bottle Zoey had held out to him, taking a swig of water.

"Ok, you two are the ones who live here," Stark said to Morgan and Cal. "Where are we?"

Cal looked around helplessly, not recognizing his surroundings. It was up to Morgan then to get them out of here. She looked around, a small feeling tingling at the back of her mind as if she had stood here before. Then, one of the buildings in the distance became clearer and her eyes widened as she remembered where she was. Excitement thrummed through her as Morgan realized that they weren't all doomed.

Morgan turned back to face the others. "I know where we are!" she said, excitedly. "We're in downtown Widow's Vale, behind Practical Magick. It's an occult bookstore. Alyce, the owner, should be there. She's also a witch, she can help us."

Morgan ran off in the direction of the bookstore before anybody could stop her. "Morgan, wait!" Cal shouted after her. He ran after her so that she didn't go off by herself.

Zoey was just about to go after the two of them, when Stark took her elbow. "Z, this is our chance," Stark said. "We need to break ties with them, and go find the others. We don't need to drag them into this."

She looked at him, confused, shaking her head. "Stark, they're already a part of this," Zoey told him. "We need to see this through to the end." She looked him squarely in the eye, persistent. Then, she turned and followed the path Morgan and Cal had taken. Stark groaned under his breath, but went after her without a doubt.

When they finally caught up to the other two at the front of the bookstore, Morgan was relentlessly pulling on the door handle and calling for Alyce to open the door, despite Cal trying to get her to stop. Zoey realized why, when she saw the closed sign in the window. The store was dark and nothing moved inside. It was obvious no one was inside. Just then, a loud caw came from the sky.

Stark, who had been scanning the street for potential threats, had his bow up and arrow trained to the sky in less time than it took to breathe. It only turned out to be a crow, just a regular crow, but Stark kept his bow out just in case. "We have to get off the street," Stark told them. "We're too exposed out here."

"Urghh!" Zoey let out a frustrated groan, causing the others to look at her. "I keep trying to get Stevie Rae on her cell phone, but she's not answering. Stark, I'm starting to get worried. What if something happened to them?" Stark gave her arm a reassuring rub. Zoey pulled herself together and turned to Morgan. "Are we far from the warehouses?"

Morgan bit her lip, looking up and down the street. "I don't know," she answered. "We might not be that far."

Zoey nodded, "Let's go there, then." The others nodded in agreement. Maybe there, they'll be able to find something out about what was going on and find a way to stop it.

"Ok, then," Cal said, taking the lead. He started down an alley, going the back ways. "Stick to the shadows, everyone. We don't need to alert anyone to our presence."

"I'm not an idiot," Stark mumbled in response, taking the rear. He glared at Cal as he walked, anxious for when he could finally get rid of him.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_**The Warehouse**_

Selene pulled Jack down the dark hallway of the warehouse, to another door just a few feet away from the hostage room. Jack wanted to ask her where she was taking him or what she wanted from him, but fear constricted him, keeping him nearly paralyzed. Selene opened the door to the office, giving Jack a push inside. Jack stumbled into the room, but remained on his feet. He gulped, shakily, and turned around to face Selene, who was just closing door. It was just the two of them in the room, alone.

Selene grinned at him, not reassuringly, and walked around to the desk. She pulled out the chair, gesturing to him. "Have a seat," she instructed him.

Jack watched her carefully, afraid that she could reach out and strike him at any moment. He moved over and sat down in the chair slowly. He looked up at her, warily waiting his next instructions. Selene patted him on the shoulder, praising him for listening. She, then, leaned over him and opened the laptop that sat on the desk in front of him.

"What do you see?" Selene asked him, as she straightened back up and pointed to the computer screen.

Jack looked up at Selene, then at the laptop. He licked his lips, and said, "Um, it looks like...surveillance footage from a couple different locations." He was confused as to why she was showing him this, and what exactly she needed him to do.

"Very good," Selene replied. "Now, you are going to sit here and watch that screen. If anyone shows up on any of those cameras, you will tell me. You are not permitted to leave this room." Jack looked down just as Selene snapped a handcuff around his right wrist and the other end to the arm of the chair. She grinned at him again. "Any questions?"

Jack cleared his throat, quietly. "Wh-wh-," he stuttered, then tried again. "Who am I...supposed to be looking for?"

Selene leaned down to his level, one hand on the back of the chair and the other hand flat on the desk. "Your friends," she simply told him.

Jack gulped, having been afraid of the answer. He didn't like the thought of sending Selene and Kalona after Zoey and Stark. Selene saw his hesitation and quickly added, "And if you try to protect your friends, well then, one of your fellow hostages will pay the price. Do you understand?"

Jack nodded reluctantly, meeting her harsh gaze.

"Now, be a good little hostage, and follow my instructions," Selene added, one final time. She walked over to the door. "I'll be checking on you periodically. Behave yourself." With that, Selene swept out of the door and was gone.

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><p><span><strong>AN:** Well, what did you all think? I hope I have some readers left, I'm sorry I kept you all waiting for so long. It won't be happening again. Please review, and tell me what you thought.


	10. Breaking an Imprint

**A/N:** I don't know if there is anyone still reading this, I hope there is. Here's the next chapter. :)

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><p><strong>~ <span>Chapter Ten<span> ~**

**~~ Breaking An Imprint ~~**

_**The Warehouse**_

Kalona walked around the room, his hands clasped behind his back, checking in on each group of hostages. None of them indulged in his light-hearted pleasantries, they all just glared at him. By the time Kalona made it over to Hunter and Damien, Hunter was ready to lunge at him, but he kept his cool. Provoking Kalona would only cause the loss of another innocent life. If they wanted to get out of here alive, they had to plan their moves and wait for the opportune moment.

"You've been unusually quiet," Kalona said when he knelt down in front of Hunter. "Nothing to say? Or are you just upset that your girlfriend is out there all alone and you're not there to protect her?" he pretended to sympathize for a moment. "Ah, no worries, we'll have her soon."

"If you touch her, I swear I'll..." Hunter ground out, through gritted teeth. He couldn't finish the sentence at the thought of Kalona anywhere near Morgan. His hands were in fists on the floor beside him.

"You'll what?" Kalona antagonized him, leaning closer.

Hunter shook his head, unable to form the words. His body seethed with anger and desperation, he was on the edge. It took everything in him to hold it back and not attack Kalona. But the very thought of Morgan hurt and possibly dying was enough to break the already thin line stopping him from doing just that.

"Just as I thought. Nothing," Kalona said, satisfied.

Hunter shook with another with-held angry emotion. Damien saw that he was about to snap, so he put his hand on Hunter's arm holding him back. He decided to distract Kalona away from Hunter. "Where's Jack?" he asked, honestly.

"Oh, he's happily locked away somewhere, working on a little project," Kalona answered, keeping his gaze on Hunter. "Don't worry about him." Lastly, Kalona smiled at Hunter and then stood up, turning around. His eyes zeroed in on the petite form across the room, very nearly bawling her eyes out. It was aggravating. Kalona walked to the center of the room.

It took Mary K a moment to notice the sudden stillness of the room and the looming presence above her. When she looked up, she gave a small gasp and shrank back. Kalona cocked his head as if he were confused by her reaction. Slowly, he knelt down in front of her. Mary K scooted back a few inches until Kalona seized her wrist and she froze.

"You don't look well, darling," Kalona said, sliding his hand up her arm, then tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. Mary K flinched. "What's your name?"

Mary K's eyes darted everywhere except at the man in front of her as she swallowed hard. "M-M-Mary K," she stammered.

"Oh, what a beautiful name...for such a beautiful girl," Kalona cooed to her softly, his index finger sliding from her ear to her chin, along her jawbone. "Stand up," he murmured to her.

Mary K gulped, swallowing a sob, and stood up with Kalona. Hunter was watching the whole thing and couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't sit here and watch Morgan's sister get hurt. Hunter jumped to his feet, barely noticing Damien reaching out to stop him. "Leave her alone!" he shouted.

"Sit down," Kalona instructed Hunter, without turning or raising his voice. Hunter remained standing. Kalona returned to speaking to Mary K. "Tell me,...why are you crying?"

Mary K sniffled and wiped her tears away. She glanced briefly up at Kalona, then returned her gaze down at the floor. "B-because...I'm scared," Mary K admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.

Kalona tisked softly, shaking his head at her. "There's no reason to be afraid. We're all friends here," he smiled friendly at her, or as friendly as he can be. He put his hands on her shoulders and turned her around to face everybody else in the room, as he stood behind her. "Now, let's tell Mary K that there is nothing to be scared of."

Hunter took a step forward. "Mary K, it's okay," he told her, calmly, sending a glare at Kalona. "No one is going to hurt you."

"Well, now, let's not lie to her," Kalona replied. He cupped Mary K's chin in his hand and lifted her face so that she was looking at him. "I'm sorry, darling, there is a chance that you will get hurt. After all, you do have six demerits. Another four, and, well..." Kalona trailed off, allowing Mary K to fill in the blank herself. She did, and her body started shaking.

"Alright, we get it, you can kill us all," Robbie burst out, jumping to his feet, like Hunter. Erin, still clinging to his arm and wanting him to like her, stood with him. "Just leave her alone." Erin nodded. Then, showing an united front, Sky, Aphrodite, Darius, and Damien all stood as well. Those who didn't stand were the ones tending to Alisa and Stevie Rae.

"Well, well, well, it looks like we have a bunch of rebels in the room," Kalona chuckled, not in the least bit fazed. "What should we do about that, Selene?" He had his arm around Mary K loosely.

"_We _are going to stop this little game," Selene snapped, not even the slightest bit interested in playing along. She stalked over to Kalona, ripped Mary K out of his grasp, and pushed her back down. With a squeak of surprise, Mary K fell to the floor in a heap. "You need to stop playing games and making nice with the hostages and focus on the objective."

Kalona smirked at her. "Careful, your cruelty is showing," he responded back. "I am merely entertaining myself during these long, tedious hours." He reached out to run his hand down her arm.

Selene swatted his hand away. "Well, keep your amusements to yourself," she scolded him. She turned her back on him and addressed the rest of the hostages. "Now, sit down, before I decide to cut my losses and kill every single one of you."

One by one, the standing hostages lowered themselves to the floor, Hunter being the last one to sit down. Suddenly, Bree's voice rose above the shuffling, panic-filled. "Hey, hey, Stevie Rae, I need you to stay with me!" she said as the red vampyre's eyes drifted closed. "You need to stay with me, okay? Don't close your eyes."

Everybody's attention was drawn to them. Selene crossed her arms and watched in amusement. Rephaim leaned toward Bree and Stevie Rae. "What happened? What's wrong?" he asked her, a rising panic building in his chest.

Bree shook her head, scattered. "I don't know," she exclaimed, not knowing what to do. "I was just talking to her to keep her conscious...and then her pulse got really weak..."

"Get a body bag ready," Selene commented. "Looks like we have our first fatality of the night."

Rephaim squandered the urge to lunge at Selene, and focused on Stevie Rae. He scooted closer. "I can help heal her," he whispered to Bree.

Bree looked at him confused and doubtfully. "What? H-" she started to ask, then her eyes widened when she saw him rolling up his sleeve and moving his arm closer to Stevie Rae's mouth. Bree grabbed his arm, stopping him. "What do think you're doing?!"

"Stevie Rae and I are imprinted, a bond that happens when a vampyre drinks from another person," Rephaim explained to her, softly, gently taking her hand off his arm. "Blood drinking can help heal her. It won't do all the work, but it will help." Rephaim readjusted himself, lifting Stevie Rae's head, whose eyes fluttered open at the movement, and placed his arm underneath her mouth. Bree subtly turned her head, unable to watch. "Here, drink," he murmured to Stevie Rae.

"What do you think you are doing?" Selene interrupted, just as Stevie Rae was about to bite. She strode over to him. "We are _not _running an all-you-can-eat buffet." Selene yanked on Rephaim's arm until he relented and stood up.

"She's weak," Rephaim argued. "She needs blood and I'm the only one who can give it to her."

Selene looked at him, with an eyebrow quirked. "_The only one_?" she questioned. "I don't think so."

Rephaim was about to argue again, but figured it would be a waste of his breath. Instead, he looked to his father for help, begging him with his eyes to let him help Stevie Rae. Kalona didn't meet his gaze, only leaned up against the wall, preoccupied.

"Do we have another volunteer to feed the bleeding vampyre?" Selene asked, looking around at the room of hostages. "Hm?"

"Please don't do this," Rephaim whispered to Selene, afraid that if Stevie Rae drank from someone else, then their imprint would break.

"I'm afraid I must," Selene smiled apologetically, but not, at him. She turned back to the rest of the hostages. "Anyone? I'm sure there's someone here who wants to save the young lady's life." Everybody sat quietly from their spots on the floor, not volunteering. It's not that they wanted Stevie Rae to die, it's just that none of them wanted to be a human blood bag. Selene took things into her own hands. "You," she said, walking over to Robbie. "You were so eager to get up before. You should have no problem with this."

Robbie looked and shook his head. "No, thanks," he said.

"I wasn't asking," Selene replied, and pulled him to his feet. Robbie protested a little as Selene ushered him forward. He couldn't help but meet Bree's gaze as he approached, and her eyes were filled with fear, for him.

"Pick someone else, please!" Bree blurted out, pleading. "I'll do it, if you want!" Robbie looked at her sharply, dumbstruck that she actually thought that he'd let her take his place.

"No," Selene said, without looking at her. She took a pocketknife from her pocket and flicked it open with a swish. She grinned tightly at Robbie. "This may hurt a little." Then, quick as a flash, Selene slashed the blade across Robbie's wrist. Robbie let out a hiss of pain, but otherwise didn't flinch.

"Please, she could kill him!" Bree was still pleading.

"Well, then, that's one less hostage I'll have to deal with," Selene replied, matter-of-factly. She forced Robbie to his knees next to Stevie Rae, and held his bleeding arm underneath her nose. "Smell that? He's all yours, if you want to."

Robbie turned his head to look at Bree, and whispered, "It's okay." Bree shook her head, tears brimming in her eyes.

Stevie Rae smelled the blood instantly and couldn't resist it, especially in her current condition. It wasn't as intoxicating to her as Rephaim's blood, but it was blood. Rephaim watched her desperately. "Don't do it," he muttered, just as Stevie Rae clamped her mouth down on Robbie's wrist.

Rephaim could barely stand to watch Stevie Rae drink from someone else and closed his eyes. Deep down, he was sure that he knew that she was half conscious, barely aware of what she was doing. She needs a lot of self-control around blood in general. Rephaim opened his eyes again, with determination. No, he wasn't going let Selene or his father break them apart, but he needed to act fast. He could already feel their imprint starting to tear.

Without thinking twice, Rephaim darted forward past Selene and slid to the floor beside Stevie Rae. He pulled Robbie away from her, and cradled her close to him. Bree scrambled over to Robbie and threw her arms around him. She tore off a piece of gauze and wrapped it around his still bleeding wrist, while Robbie slumped against her, face pale from loss of blood.

"Feel better?" Selene commented from behind Rephaim. Rephaim didn't say anything as he held Stevie Rae in his arms, but he could feel Selene's menacing presence behind him. Selene didn't say anything else to him, instead she walked away and dragged Robbie up with her, despite Bree's protests. After depositing the young man back down next to Erin, Selene strode over to Kalona.

"I'm going to check on our _friend_ in the other room," Selene told him. "Please make sure the hostages behave themselves." Without waiting for Kalona's reply, Selene left the room.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Jack sat in the office behind the desk, where Selene had left him, growing bored. He had been staring at the four security camera footage on the laptop screen for what had to be at least five minutes. Nothing, or no one, showed up. Jack placed his free arm, the one not handcuffed to the chair, on the desk, resting his chin in his hand. He didn't know what he would do if he saw Zoey or Stark appear in one of the cameras. He didn't want to get either one of them caught, but that would mean sacrificing one or all of his friends in the other room. Jack thought about Mary K, the girl he had been sitting next to for the past couple of hours. She was younger than him and looked so small curled up on herself and scared. She felt like a younger sister in need of his protection.

Suddenly, movement on the computer screen caught his attention and he sat up straighter. A dark-haired guy, not Stark, and pretty cute looking if you asked Jack, crept into view of the camera in the front of the warehouse. Jack looked up quickly at the door to his room, but it was still closed. He turned back to the screen in time to see Zoey and another girl with light brown hair appear as well. Stark pulled up the rear with his bow and arrow, looking like an ancestral predator.

The group paused to discuss something. Though Jack couldn't hear what they were saying, he could tell from the tense postures of the two guys that they were not in agreement. Jack held his breath for what seemed like an eternity until the foursome fanned out and, one-by-one, disappeared off screen. He had just released his breath when the doorknob started turning and then the door to the room swung open. Selene stood in the open doorway and one look at Jack's still shocked face, she knew. A gleeful smile split her face.

"You found them," she stated, matter-of-factly. "Congratulations, Jack, you may have just saved your friends."

_Which ones?_ Jack asked to himself as Selene crossed the room in four strides. He swallowed hard and it felt like a ton of bricks landing in his stomach.

* * *

><p><span><strong>AN:** I really hope I still have some readers out there. Please review and tell me what you thought. Let me know you're still reading.


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